An Engaging Situation
by Ryu Reikai-Akuma
Summary: Heir to his father's company and betrothed to a woman nine years older than him, Tezuka thought his life couldn't get any worse. He was wrong. AU, Yaoi, madness. FINISHED
1. The Engagement

Disclaimer: not mine. will never be mine.

**The Engagement**

At first glance, there's nothing special about Tezuka Kunimitsu life. Sure, he's the sole heir of Zeroshiki co., winner of Japan National Tennis Tournament four years in a row since 9th grade, best student since elementary school to high school, chosen as student council president not once but twice, and not to mention a current student of the prestigious Tokyo University. He's just an ordinary young man with the looks and attitude that drew attention from about every female within a mile radius. No, there's nothing special about him at all.

Not really.

Tezuka never thought of himself as different from his peers. Unless when he's taking off his shirt and thus revealing the necklace around his neck. Or more precisely, the ring that hung on the necklace around his neck. His engagement ring.

Yes, Tezuka Kunimitsu was engaged. To whom, you asked? To the heiress of Fuji co., Fuji Yumiko, someone about nine years older than him of course. And they had been engaged for quite a while too. Ever since he was ten actually. Shocking was an understatement. Yumiko would've told you that it was more like an attempt to murder someone by inflicting heart attack.

Their parents were best friends ever since their college time and their friendship only got stronger after they both entered the business world. Since their companies often worked together, in order to straighten the business partnership and due to certain joke they made during their younger days (over booze among other things), they decide to betrothed their children to each other. Imagine their jubilance upon knowing that Fuji's first born was a girl and Tezuka's was a boy. Large parties were held to celebrate the lucky predicament but a more private one was held ten years after Tezuka's birth to celebrate the engagement.

So whenever Tezuka heard people wondering about his unusually mature disposition, he knew the answer but chose not to say it. Most people weren't used to hearing a teenager being engaged to someone nearly a decade older than him starting when he was twelve. Only few people knew of this. One of them was Tezuka's childhood friend who was also the son of the vice president of his father's company, Oishi Shuichiro. Yes, that's the boy who was so traumatized upon seeing the engagement that he turned gay.

As for Tezuka's fiancée, she was working in Fuji co. as a manager. She had smartly occupied herself with numerous lovers that no one ever questioned the ring on her right ring finger. She met Tezuka occasionally and treated him like a younger brother. She avoided the topic of marriage and pretended not to hear anything whenever Tezuka mentioned about it.

Speaking of marriages…

Tezuka was currently walking down the beautiful hall of the Fuji's residence. He had been called this morning by Fuji-san who asked him to come to his house with his parents to discus an 'urgent matter'. Now parents meeting on his fiancée's house only meant one thing: marriage. Tezuka wished he could stick being fourteen.

The butler before him knocked on a wooden door. Tezuka took a deep breath as he heard an order to enter. The butler opened the door.

"Tezuka-san is here, sir."

"Oh, yes. Please come in, Tezuka-kun."

The room was somewhat informal looking compared to the hall. Painting, flowers and electronic devices filled the spacious room. The sunlight poured through the window overlooking the beautiful garden outside warmed the room nicely.

His parents were sitting in a white couch, waiting for him to join them. They had come before him because he still had to attend some classes earlier. Opposite to them on an identical white couch were Fuji Yumiko and her mother. Tezuka joined his parents and greeted them politely then he looked up to the man of the house to explain why he was called here.

"As we already know your father and I has many years ago decided to join out families. It might begin as a casual conversation as college best friends but after facing the harsh reality of the business world we decided to take that conversation seriously. Through our children's wedding we hoped to strengthen out business partnership. Now you have been engaged to my daughter for ten years. You are now twenty, ready for the responsibility that would be place upon you. You are ready to marry Yumiko and we have agreed that when you turn twenty, it's time to end your engagement."

Tezuka took a deep calming breath. Here it comes…. Goodbye celibacy.

"However, there is a small hitch."

What?

Yumiko leaned forward and took Tezuka's hands in hers. "Kunimitsu, you are so kind to me. I know it's hard for you to accept the fact that you are engaged to a woman nine years older than you. But still you are so polite and patient and kind to me. I couldn't expect more from a man." She smiled to him. Tezuka just looked at her blankly. What was she up to? "Kunimitsu, I'm sorry. I'm pregnant."

Tezuka blinked once, twice. What did she just say?

"I'm sorry. I don't expect you to understand. I would understand if you're angry, or disgusted, or…"

Tezuka shook his head. "It's all right."

Yumiko smiled to him gratefully. Tezuka looked up when he heard her father cleared his throat. "I'm glad you aren't angry." He said with an uneasy smile.

Of course he wasn't angry. He wasn't going to get married to her! Welcome back celibacy!

"But something must be done. The competition in this era is very tight."

Tezuka frowned lightly. What's he talking about? Right then, a knock was sounded on the door. The butler who took Tezuka to the room earlier came in after Fuji-san allowed him entry.

"Young master is here, sir."

And then a smiling brunette made his entrance. He was similar in look to Yoshiko and Tezuka recognized him as Yumiko's younger brother who had been studying in Europe since junior high, Fuji Shuusuke. Though Tezuka hadn't seen him for three years he could still recognize him. His appearance changed little since then. He seemed more mature and more elegant than ever. The blue eyes opened slightly and swept over the three figures. They lingered a little longer on Tezuka, causing a strange flutter in his heart. It last only a moment because Fuji quickly altered his attention to his father.

"Tezuka-kun, meet your new fiancée."

Say what?!

Tezuka looked at Fuji-san in incredulity then he looked at the person who was said to be his new fiancée.

Fuji Shuusuke looked surprised as well. His smile froze on his lips for a second before twisting up in a rather creepy manner. He said nothing but Tezuka could pretty much guess what he had in mind. I just arrived from hours of flight, got caught in the traffic, arrived home to learn that his baby brother wasn't yet around to tease and now his father suddenly say what?

"Pardon?" Fuji asked sweetly with a smile.

For some reason, he scared Tezuka with that smile. But his family seemed to be used to it. His father explained the situation to him calmly.

"You are now engaged to Tezuka-kun in replacement of your sister."

Yumiko beamed to her brother. "I'm pregnant."

Remembering the situation at hand, Tezuka turned to his parents. "Do you agree to this?"

"Yes." His father replied casually. "Fuji-san is right."

"Wasn't there any other way?"

"A contract would lead to one side being in a disadvantage. Marriage is a fair way to maintain this partnership." Kuniharu said with a smile.

"Grandfather…"

"He understands." Ayana told her son. "We've called him earlier. He had some difficulties accepting that at first but now he's okay with it."

Probably they convinced his grandfather by threatening his beloved bonsai (Marylin-chan) but Tezuka didn't want to argue about that. Running out of excuses, Tezuka turned to his new fiancée. The young Fuji was stared at him in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"And does it ever cross our mind that I might not be gay?" he asked everyone in the room in general.

"Yes." Fuji-san answered. "But we don't have many options."

Fuji and Tezuka stared at their own parents, wondering what kind of evil deed they had done in their previous life to deserve such karma. Then they stared at each other, measuring and wondering. Tezuka's heart beat sped up slightly but he ignored it. After a few tense seconds, they reached an understanding.

Fuji's smile grew as he approached Tezuka. Tezuka stood and towered before Fuji. He might look rather intimidating for some, but Fuji's deadly smile earlier was the epitome of intimidation. Fuji offered his hand and Tezuka took it graciously. Fuji's hand was surprisingly soft for a man, only slightly calloused from little hard work.

"I think I should start calling you sweetheart."

A/N: sounds engaging to you? Tell me. My muse loves comments. Btw, it's written in my maddest moments so the style will probably change in the middle of the story. And honestly I still don't know how the story's going to end (it'll be happy ending, I promise) so I hope I won't bore you if this turns out to be like daytime soap opera.


	2. The Terms of Engagement

**The Terms of Engagement**

Tezuka was completely silent on the way home. He tried to think of time he had spent with the person who was now his fiancée and could barely think of any at all. While he often came to Fuji's residence due to his parents' encouragement to get better acquainted with his (now ex) fiancée and his (still) soon-to-be in laws, he hardly ever met Fuji at all. They met quite often as little children. Tezuka remembered him as a prodigious artist as proven by the paint of Fuji's living room's walls that changed by every visit and Tezuka's plain white t-shirt that suddenly became a copy of Monet's painting.

Two years after Tezuka's engagement with Yumiko, Fuji left for Europe to continue his study. Tezuka didn't see him off. He was still a little traumatized by the engagement and got a little lightheaded at the sight of his then nineteen year old fiancée. He attended Junior High in England, Senior High in Austria, and then studied art in France. He last went back to Japan three years ago and didn't leave any deep impression other than his smiles and teasing remarks and the way he almost made Yuuta's girlfriend commit suicide that night.

And now he's engaged to him?! Gods, being engaged to Yumiko was so much easier.

"What do you think about him?"

Tezuka glanced at his mother on the passenger side beside him. She had thought that her son would need maternal support after the shock therapy and insisted on accompanying him home. Tezuka frankly thought that what he needed right now was a shrink, but didn't have the heart to tell his mother that.

"I barely know him." He answered quietly.

"He seems like a nice young man." Then she chuckled softly in reminiscence. "Oh, I remember when you two were just kids you often play together. He would tease you mercilessly until you gave in and did what he asked. He doesn't seem to change much, ne?"

Tezuka hummed in agreement, silently wishing that Ayana would let him mourn his fate in silence.

"You don't know much about him, ne?'

Tezuka held back an exasperated sigh, wondering if his mother ever listened to him at all. "No."

Ayana hummed thoughtfully. Tezuka glanced at his mother through the rearview mirror. He had a very bad feeling about this. He braced himself when his mother's face brightened suddenly. But nothing could prepare him for what Ayana was going to say. "Oh, I know. You two should spend more time together! I'll ask your father to buy you a house so that you two could live together! I can't wait to tell him this! He will agree!"

Tezuka's sleek black sedan made a sudden halt, causing the car behind him to honk its horns loudly. Tezuka ignored all the noise in favor of staring at his mother incredulously. "What?" Then, remembering his manner, he changed his tone to a more polite one and continued to drive. "No. It's not necessary."

"You're right. What about an apartment?"

"Mother, I don't think…"

"Your father would give nothing less than the best. A house it is! I can't wait to tell him about the plan!"

Tezuka sighed in resignation. He so hated being right.

* * *

"Are you really pregnant?"

"Yes, I am."

"Of whose child?"

Yumiko handed her brother a photograph of a young man. "My boyfriend's. His name is Shibuya Shori. We met at our company's party."

"Is he our employee?"

"No. His father runs a small company we work with. He's quite a competent worker, being made a CEO at young age. He's younger than me by the way."

"Are you sure he's not just using you?" Fuji asked as he scrutinized the young man on the picture intently. He was here to make sure that Yumiko wasn't lying just to get away from the engagement but his mission might change if he sensed something funny about his sister's 'boyfriend'.

"No. He didn't even know I'm the president's daughter until a few weeks ago. He didn't treat me more specially. If anything, he freaked out and almost ditched me in fear of me thinking he's only using me. Well, he can't go anywhere now." Yumiko said in satisfaction as he stroked her stomach lightly.

Fuji hummed and returned the picture to his sister. He looked around Yumiko's spacious room that was dominated by red and brown colors. The room was decorated with a style that cross a young girl's box of memory and a woman's love nest. It made Fuji think of redecorating his room. No changed had been made since he left Japan eight years ago and he wanted to reflect him more. But something told him that though he would stay in Japan for a while, he wouldn't need to redecorate his room at all.

"How old is the pregnancy?" He asked Yumiko who was lying on her queen-sized bed.

"About two months."

"Have you told him?"

"Of course. He's going to come tonight to meet all of us."

"All of us?" Fuji's eyes glinted mischievously and his smile widened when he heard this.

Right at this moment, the door opened to let a fuming Fuji Yuuta in. He stopped short upon seeing the occupants the room.

"What are you doing here?" He asked pointedly to Fuji.

"Okaerinasai, Yuuta." Fuji greeted with a smile, completely ignoring the hostility in Yuuta's voice. "I'm here for nee-chan of course."

At the mention of her, Yuuta turned to his sister. "Is it true what I heard that you are…"

"Yes, Yuuta, I'm pregnant."

Yuuta stared wide-eyed at Yumiko. "Who…"

"My boyfriend, Shibuya Shori."

"Why don't you sit down, Yuuta. You look like you're about to faint." Fuji said, patting the spot on the bed beside him.

Something had definitely gone wrong with Yuuta because he obeyed and dazedly sat next to his brother. The smile on Fuji's smile grew. "That's why you called me to come home soon."

"She's two months pregnant. Isn't it wonderful?' Fuji beamed, causing Yuuta to squawked and paled slightly.

"What?!"

"Come to think of it, you haven't congratulated me yet, Shuusuke."

"Ah, you're right." Fuji leaned down to kiss Yumiko's cheek. "Congratulation, nee-chan. I know you'll make a great mother. Aren't you going to congratulate her too, Yuuta?"

"I… I…"

"Good news!" Fuji Yoshiko cried as she entered her daughter's room. She stopped at the sight of her youngest son. "Oh, okaeri nasai, Yuuta. Have you greeted your father?"

Yuuta nodded wordlessly with slacked face, still trying to comprehend the sudden flow of (over)information. Fuji's smiled mischievously upon seeing this.

"What's the good news?" Fuji asked, reminding his mother of what she was going to say. He doubted there was better news than Yuuta's return home.

"Oh, right. Tezuka Ayana just called me. She said that Kuniharu agreed to buy a house for you and Kunimtsu to live together in." She announced excitedly.

"That's wonderful!" Yumiko said, clapping her hands together.

"Wait a second. I thought you said that this is Shiro's child?" Yuuta looked at his sister in shocked bewilderment.

"It's Shori, Yuuta." Yumiko corrected her brother kindly.

"Yes, that. And you're going to live with Tezuka Kunimitsu?!"

"Not me. Shuusuke is." Yumiko shook her head with a wide grin.

"What?" Yuuta squawked. There must be something wrong with his ears. Damn those cell phones and their electromagnetic waves.

"Shuusuke is going to live with Kunimitsu." Yumiko kindly repeated to her brother.

"What?" It seemed like the shock had erased a good portion of Yuuta's vocabulary. He looked at his brother's smiling countenance and felt his head spin.

"Didn't your father tell you?" Yoshiko said, blinking innocently as if she hadn't just take part in the plot of causing heart attacks to as many people as possible in a day.

"No, I just ran up here when I heard that nee-chan…" Apparently some of his vocabulary was still salvaged from the damage.

"Well, since I'm pregnant Shuusuke is going to take my place as Kunimitsu's fiancée. And, it seems like you are going to live together now!"

"But, you're…" Yuuta stammered incomprehensibly. How could this be happening? Two men engaged to each other? Not to mention that one of them was his brother. God, he needed aspirin. A very large dose of aspirin.

Fuji smiled teasingly at his brother. "Why, would you like to take my place?"

"No!" Yuuta cried adamantly. "No way!"

"We're going to find the perfect house for you! And by the way, have you gone to pediatrician? We need to make sure that your baby's all right. And… Yuuta! Yuuta!"

Too much information in one day is bad for your health. The theory was proven by the fainting of Fuji Yuuta.

* * *

Tezuka used the next day to cool his head and think about the situation at hand (on ring finger, to be precise). He had felt like screaming to the heaven the better part of the day, demanding an explanation of why he was put in this situation. This was solved with a game of tennis but the next day he nearly got a panic attack when he woke up and caught sight of the ring on his necklace.

It was very unusual for him to not go to his classes so Oishi called him to ask if he was okay. He hated being fussed about and forced himself to go the next day. He fervently hoped that no one noticed how he jumped every time the name Fuji was mentioned. It was by pure and sheer bad luck that his professor as explaining the effective strategy of FujiFilm. The poor professor was subjected to many difficult questions and death glares from the Tezukas heir. He was resorted to dismissing the class early in fear of being the victim of a homicide.

"Your fan girls were worried about you yesterday." Oishi informed Tezuka as they walked out of the university building. Being Tezuka's only known friend, he had been subjected to a long hour of interrogation from the girls before they finally realized that he knew nothing more than they did about Tezuka's absence.

Tezuka let Oishi spoke all he wanted. His mind wasn't really in the monologue. He was still in shock from the news he received two days ago about his new fiancée. Oishi was kindly informing Tezuka of Professor Nara's lecture yesterday when his best friend suddenly made a halt beside him.

"Tezuka?" He looked at his friend in question.

Tezuka didn't seem to hear him. He was looking at a certain direction ahead of them mutely. His body was visibly tense and the expression on his face could only be described as horrified. And Tezuka showing any expression at all was something Oishi had never seen. He wondered if Tezuka got a virus that attacked his brain or something. Yes, that must be it.

"Tezuka?" he called out his friend in concern. Had the virus ruined his control over his limbs and speech also? Oishi fished for his cell phone to call ambulance. That's when he realized that Tezuka's eyes were fixed to a certain point. He followed his gaze and saw nothing out of ordinary. There's only Tezuka's car… and someone leaning on it. Oishi squinted his eyes to get a better look of the person. The petite stranger had brown hair and his eyes were obscured by a pair of sunglasses. His sense of clothing was like nothing Oishi had ever seen in Japan though he was clearly Japanese. Suddenly it clicked to Oishi who the person might be.

"Tezuka, is that your fiancée?"

Tezuka turned to Oishi sharply when he heard that. No, he didn't just hear that. Oishi didn't just imply that he knew about his new engagement. No one knew about the disaster that fell upon him. His ears had only deceived him. Must be the result of getting hit by a tennis ball in the head yesterday.

Not realizing Tezuka's thought, Oishi grinned sheepishly and confirmed Tezuka's worst suspicion. "My father told me."

Tezuka took a deep calming breath as he felt a severe headache forming in his head. Yes, it was definitely simpler when he was engaged to Yumiko. It definitely gave him less headaches.

"He was under strict order not to tell anyone, though, so you don't have to be worried. Anyway, I think he's waiting for you. You should go to him."

Tezuka nodded in defeat. "I'll see you tomorrow." Then he walked to the direction of his car. Unease filled him as he neared his destination. When Fuji noticed him, he leaned away from the car and smiled to him as he waited for him to stand before him.

"Hi." Fuji greeted him naturally as if they hadn't just been announced to be engaged to each other two days ago. Tezuka envied his ease. He still felt like demanding the heaven to return his parents' sanity or to wake him up for the nightmare. Fuji seemed to know this and smiled sympathetically. "Do you have other class after this?"

"No."

"Then could we go somewhere? I'd like to talk to you."

Unable to refuse, Tezuka unlocked the car and climbed into the driver side. Once Fuji had gotten seated and put on the seatbelt, he asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"I've heard of a nice place. I'll direct you there."

They spent the ride in silence, broken occasionally when Fuji spoke to give direction. Soon they arrived in an exclusive café downtown. The café was thankfully quiet at the time they arrived but still they took the seats on the corner, not wanting to be seen or heard.

"I believe this is our first real conversation since three years ago." Fuji started the conversation after giving his order to the waitress who couldn't help drooling at the sight of the two gorgeous young men.

"Aa."

"Maa… You should speak more, Tezuka-kun. I'm not a very good mind reader, you know." Fuji joked.

Tezuka sighed softly. "I'm not very comfortable with our situation." He admitted.

Fuji nodded in understanding. "I know. That's exactly what I want to talk about."

Hope bubbled up in Tezuka but he quenched it down. He waited for his companion to talk but Fuji was suddenly more interested to the mural on the wall than the conversation.

"What do you study in college?" The blue eyed boy asked suddenly.

"Business." Tezuka replied. If he was surprised or annoyed by the sudden turn of conversation, he didn't let it show in his voice.

"Do you like it?" Fuji looked at Tezuka in curiosity, tilting his head cutely to one side. Tezuka blinked. No, he did not just think of Fuji as cute. It was the stress eating at his brain. He didn't think that Fuji was cute at all.

Good looking, maybe.

"It's convenient for the future." Tezuka said neutrally, carefully avoiding Fuji's eyes.

"So you don't like it." Fuji pointed out, smiling.

"I don't like it, but I don't dislike it either." It is simply a must, he added in his head.

"It is simply a must." Fuji echoed thevoice in Tezuka's head.

Tezuka blinked n surprise. How did Fuji know what he was thinking?

Fuji continued to smile innocently, this time not realizing Tezuka's line of thought, or deciding to ignore it. "And since you study business you must understand that our fathers' companies' partnership is important, ne?"

Tezuka nodded in resignation. He knew what Fuji was trying to say. There was nothing they could do with their situation.

"We can't call off this engagement." Fuji said, turning his hand so that the back of his right hand was visible. That's when Tezuka noticed that he's wearing Yumiko's ring. Tezuka's own ring burnt his chest when he saw its twin. "It's important that we maintain this."

"I know." Tezuka said quietly.

"Do you ever think about getting married, Tezuka?" Fuji asked abruptly. Tezuka was starting to wonder about Fuji's habit of suddenly changing the topic.

"Yes, I have." How could he not when it showed up in his nightmares every other day?

"Do you think we would ever get married?"

Tezuka looked at the person before him in discomfort. Thinking about marriages and Fuji in the same sentence tended to make his head throbbed madly. And this time it felt like it's going to explode. Getting married to Fuji Shuusuke? Oh, God. "I don't know."

Fuji smiled wider. "I don't know either. But I think this engagement will change little things in our lives."

Tezuka frowned. Two men were engaged and would probably get married within a couple of years or even months (God, make that decades, please). Was that not live-changing enough?

"I'm sure you've heard of our mothers' plan for us to live together."

Tezuka nodded. He remembered how his other had excitedly told him about how she had found the perfect house ('It has swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and a _lot_ of bedrooms').

Fuji leaned forward slightly, revealing his blue eyes slightly. Tezuka felt his heart skipped a beat but ignored it yet again. "You know, Tezuka, I think that'll be as far as we would go."

"What do you mean?"

"Your parents will want grandchildren. If we're married or even engaged, that will be impossible. We will only have to live together until our parents grow tired of their little matchmaking scheme. And then…" Fuji leaned back onto his chair with a satisfied smile. "We could go on our own ways."

"But what about the partnership?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something that will benefit us all."

Tezuka considered Fuji's plan. It's so full of probability. What if their parents wouldn't change their minds? What if they still wanted them to get married? But it's still the best plan they have though it sounds more like ground rules to Tezuka.

"All right." Tezuka agreed reluctantly.

"Good. For now I suggest we should get better acquainted."

"Better acquainted?"

"If we're going to be stuck together, we should." He waited until the waitress who delivered their drinks left before speaking again. "Anyway, nee-chan is going to get married in a month."

"So soon?" Tezuka raised an eyebrow.

"Her boyfriend, a guy named Shibuya Shori came for dinner last night and asked to marry her. His parents will come to discuss the wedding tonight."

Wedding. It could've been his own with Yumiko. But Tezuka imagined that if they did end up together, their mothers would make it a wedding to remember, the greatest party in the history of Japan. He cold imagined the headline of National newspapers: Tezuka and Fuji heirs to wed in wedding of the century after being engaged since ten. Tezuka shuddered. That was something he didn't one anyone to know about.

Across from him, Fuji stared at him and smiled sweetly. And for some unknown reason, Tezuka felt butterfly in his stomach.

* * *

The first thing that greeted Fuji when he opened the door to his bedroom was a very, very loud squeal.

"Fujiko!"

And then Fuji found himself with an armful of a redheaded boy. He hid his surprise well and tried to peel the redhead off him.

"Hello to you too, Eiji. It's been a while, ne?"

The redhead, Eiji Kikumaru, was Fuji's childhood friend. He had come along with Fuji to England to continue their studies. But when Fuji was going to move to Austria, he was asked to return to Japan. Though they had less time together after that, they were still communicating and remained close.

"I miss you, nya!"

"I miss you, too." Fuji said as he closed the door and pulled Eiji to the couches near the windows. "Have you been waiting for long?" He asked, noticing two glasses of strawberry milkshake on the coffee table.

"I've been waiting for you for an hour! Mou, where were you?" Eiji complained.

"Gomen, Eiji. But I just had to meet someone." He apologized smoothly.

Eiji pouted but immediately brightened when he remembered something. "Ne, ne, Fuji, what is this news I heard about you being engaged? To Tezuka Kunimitsu, no less!"

"How did you know?" Fuji asked, not denying the accusation.

"Your sister told me, nya! She was here until a while ago when her boyfriends called."

"Sou ka. Well, it's true."

"Really?" Eiji asked, wide-eyed.

Fuji nodded calmly. "Nee-chan is pregnant and I have to replace her as Kunimitsu's fiancée."

"Have you met him? Was he the person you met just now? Are you already dating? How did he react to this? Do you like him? Tell me, nya!" Eiji asked excitedly.

"Maa… That's a lot of questions, Eiji." Fuji laughed. "Yes, we've met. Yes, he was the person I met just now. No, it wasn't a date. He isn't too pleased with our situation but is unable to do anything about it. And… do I like him? Saa…"

"Come on! You must feel something for him! If it's not like then it's dislike. Which one is it?" Eiji pressed on.

"He's a nice person. He never changes from three years ago. What I feel for him doesn't change from three years ago."

"And what was that?" Eiji asked eagerly.

"Indifferent." Fuji said with a wide smile.

Eiji groaned. "Aw, come on. There must be something, nya!"

"But there's nothing. Eiji would you like some drink?"

Eiji pouted but let Fuji pick up the phone and order the butler to bring some drink for them. "Strawberry smoothie and jalapeno juice, please. Thank you." He shuddered but quickly shook the feeling off. He's been Fuji's friend for years so his weird taste in food doesn't surprise him anymore though still made him a little sick. Thank god Fuji didn't study culinary. He couldn't imagine what world will become if Fuji Shuusuke ruled over the culinary world.

"Then tell me about your meeting today!"

"I came to his college, asked him to come with me to talk. We discussed our situation and decided that little could be done to it. We talked some more and then we parted ways."

"So you're not, in _any_ way, attracted to him?" Eiji asked with a mischievous grin.

Fuji shook his head. "I'm not gay."

"But you can't be straight either."

"What makes you think so?"

"Well, you've never had any girlfriends." Eiji pointed out the overlooked fact. And it's true that during the three years they spent in England Fuji had never had any girlfriends, or boyfriend in that matter. He never mentioned anything in his emails to Eiji after the redhead returned to Japan either. Eiji couldn't comprehend why Fuji never picked any lover. He himself had never had any for some mysterious reason. His potential boyfriends usually suddenly contracted an Eiji-phobia and avoided him after a while.

"I don't count on flings." Fuji replied breezily. He never picked any lover because they usually bore them on the first date. His longest running 'relationship' was with an uprising artist he met at Louvre a year ago. It last four days before Fuji decided that he didn't like the artist style and left him.

He was reputed to be a playboy, he knew. But that didn't stop people, male and female alike, to throw themselves at his feet. It's never the other way around. He was difficult to impress. His interest on other people never last long enough and was never strong enough. Fuji had resolved to never have any serious lover before he found someone who could keep him interested all the time.

"It took more than a handsome face to make me gay."

"So you do think he's handsome." Eiji teased.

"Of course. Everyone would agree that he is. But as I say, it's not enough."

"You said he's handsome and nice. What else do you want, nya?"

Fuji tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. "Saa… I want him to be more human, I guess. He's more like a marble statue to me."

Eiji pondered this for a while. Well, the Tezuka Kunimitsu that he knew did resemble a marble statue. He'd been like that for ever since Eiji knew about him. Eiji wondered if that's Fuji's way to say that he wouldn't ever love Tezuka.

His musing was cut short as the butler came with their drinks. Well, now he had more urgent matter to attend to than Fuji's recent engagement. He eyed his strawberry smoothie hungrily. Fuji would have to wait.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all who has reviewed the first chapter. R&R, please.


	3. Love Cruise

Disclaimer: No, they're not mine. No, I gain nothing from writing this other than wonderful reviews.

A/N: Here's an important question: should I post a chapter with mature content in it here? Because I do plan on some very graphic sexual scenes in this story and other stories by me. Your answer will determine how I edit and post the next chapters. If you want the unedited version but many disagrees with posting mature content here, I'll give the link to my LJ page or something. Anyway. enjoy!

**Love Cruise**

That Tezuka, how should Fuji describe him? Nice and handsome were the first words that came to mind when thinking about the bespectacled boy. Fuji didn't know much about him and wasn't sure of how to find out. He thought about hiring P.I. as he had done to investigate and then 'eliminate' Eiji's prospective boy friends but thought that the risks if Tezuka and his family found out were too big.

He didn't have much time to get to know his fiancée better. During the hectic and hasty preparations of his sister's wedding, he had met Tezuka at least once a week. Tezuka Ayana had kindly offered to help with the wedding preparations and brought her son along whenever she managed to threaten the poor young man. Unfortunately (or fortunately) those meetings were brief and offered little privacy because whenever Fuji tried to speak to Tezuka, their mothers would giggle and glanced at them in a very girlish manner unfitting for their age. This caused Tezuka to withdraw and tried to make himself scarce or invisible by standing in the furthest corner (and failed horribly at it because if he was so lucky to avoid Fuji and their mothers, he would have to face gushy maid in honors which would lead him back to Fuji).

So far Fuji gathered only Tezuka's three sizes from the time they ordered the suits for the wedding, Tezuka's major in college and Tezuka's seeming-allergy to flowers (Ayana told him later that Tezuka's locker was once swarmed with flowers, lover letters and chocolate on Valentine Day that eventually led to an ambush by his fan girls after school). And frankly Fuji didn't feel like rushing to find out either. He was enjoying peeling of layer by layer of the enigma (a more romantic version of what he had in mind: onion). But the temptation to find out instantly about Tezuka's dirty secrets came strongly in form of a phone call.

"Moshi moshi."

"Hello, Fuji. It's been a while."

"I'm glad to hear from you again, Inui."

"There's a seventy six percent chance that you would return to Japan before finishing your study in France."

"How big was the chance that I would return because of my sister's pregnancy?"

Inui didn't seem to be surprised at all by the question but then again the dataman was known for his ability to predict about every little thing that would occur in the future. Fuji took it as a sign that he needed to raise his eccentricity up another notch. "One point seven." He said confidently.

Fuji laughed. His P.I./ex-schoolmate was one of the most interesting and intriguing individual he had ever encountered. Unfortunately Fuji was more interested in countering Inui's data rather than gathering data about him. "I don't think you called just to tell me that."

"No, I didn't." Fuji smiled as he imagined Inui's glasses glinted dangerously. "I called to confirm an information I just received recently."

Fuji hummed to show that he's listening. He thought he knew what Inui was going to ask, after all there was only a few new information could be gathered from him since his return to Japan three weeks ago.

"Is it true that you are currently engaged to the heir of Tezuka Kuniharu, Tezuka Kunimitsu?"

"Yes." Fuji replied calmly. He wondered how Inui managed to get that data. It seemed like he needed to do a little investigation of his own. Whoever had leaked that information should wish that Fuji wouldn't find them because he was capable of damaging one's brain even without the aide of dubious looking juice.

He heard the familiar scribbling noise before Inui made his next question. "Is it true that you two will live together?"

"Yes." Fuji answered with a smile. "Inui?"

"Yes?"

Fuji allowed his eyes to open slightly as he spoke. He knew that even though Inui could see him, he was smart enough to recognize the danger ahead. "This information will stay between us. It is not to be made public. All right?" he said sweetly. In the entire room people shivered from the sudden drop of temperature.

The scribbling paused as Inui hesitated. "Of course."

"Wonderful." Fuji said in satisfaction and the temperature rose again. He smiled at Yuuta who threw him a furtive glance. "Now, I'd like to invite you to my sister's wedding. Consider this a token for your generous help these past few years." He said, referring to the many helps he has given to not only Fuji, but also his sister.

"It's an honor. I'll come, thank you."

"But before that, there's something I need you to do."

"What is it?"

"Find anything you can about the Shibuyas and their company."

"That's your sister's soon-to-be in laws."

"Yes."

Inui hummed in understanding. "All right. I'll give you the report at the wedding, is that all right?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Your welcome. Good day, Fuji."

Fuji cut off the connection and looked up in time to see a red faced Yuuta yelling at Yumiko. "I'm not going to wear pink!"

"But Yuuta, it's the wedding theme. And besides, you'll look cute in that color." Yumiko explained calmly.

"I don't want to look cute! It might look okay on Aniki, but me!"

Finally Yumiko's patience snapped as it happened often lately with the combination of wedding stress and pregnancy. "You are going to wear the pink suit to my wedding or I'll make you wear a tutu and make the entrance dance to the altar."

Good day, indeed.

* * *

The wedding would be held in Fuji's cruise ship. Some hundred of close relatives, friends as well as business partner were invited to the wedding. Along with them there were also crews and workers that would help to prepare the wedding. It's a small number considering the real capacity of the cruise ship.

The cruise would last five days and the couple's were scheduled to marry on the third day. After that they would go to Fuji's private island where they would stay for four days before returning to Japan, leaving the newlyweds for their honeymoon. It was a lengthy event but few dared to not bide to Fuji-san's invitation.

On Tezuka's case though, he dreaded the event. He couldn't help but be nervous to be around Fuji in front of so many people. Their mothers might suddenly decide to announce their engagement some time during the trip. Tezuka had braced himself to jump off the ship if that ever happen. Dealing with the sharks was much easier than dealing with the situation that would surely ensue after the announcement.

Just in case the thought of the engagement drove his sanity away, Tezuka took Oishi (whose family was officially invited as his father was the vice president of Zeroshiki.co) with him. The young man had proven to be quite a reliable supporting rock at times of crisis and this was nothing if not crisis. Tezuka was sure of that when he heard the room arrangement.

"I will not sleep with him in the same room." he said sternly, trying to level down the death glare he's sending Yoshiko and Ayana.

"Why not?" Ayana asked with an innocent smile.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji for help, but the blue eyed boy seemed to enjoy seeing him being tortured by these women. Damn. Where was Oishi when he needed him? Oh, right. He was outside, getting friendly with Fuji's friend, Eiji. Damn.

"I'm not comfortable with it."

"With what exactly?" Yoshiko piped in with a teasing smile Tezuka had seen several times on Fuji's face when he's teasing Yuuta. "Is there anything wrong with the room or the bed? I could get you a room with a king sized bed if you like." She offered kindly.

Do you think anyone would notice if Tezuka threw this woman off board later at night? Tezuka fought the murderous intent and took a deep breath.

"Tezuka-kun? What do you think?"

Screw it. That woman's so dead tonight.

"I think what Kunimitsu means is that he doesn't like to have his privacy disturbed. Ne, Kunimitsu?" Fuji spoke up and saved the day (and his mother in this case).

Tezuka stared at Fuji. Did he just call him by his first name?

"Oh." The women's faces fell as they couldn't make any argument to that. Tezuka sighed in relief internally.

"I'll take the room down the hall instead. No one's occupying it, right?" Fuji continued with a calming smile. "That's all right, ne, kaa-san, Tezuka-san?"

Soon Tezuka was alone in _his_ room, unpacking his luggage. Oishi still hadn't come around so Tezuka took it that he was still too busy to make friend with Eiji. Tezuka explored the suite after he finished unpacking. It was decorated with a lavish and classic style that somehow still looked homey. It had a warm peach tone that made Tezuka think of his family. Sun shone through the glass door leading to the balcony. Tezuka felt rather bad for driving Fuji out of this beautiful suite.

So Tezuka went to Fuji's room. He hesitated for a second in front of the door before knocking it. He didn't have o wait very long before the door was opened by a young man. Tezuka blinked at him in surprise. Fuji brought a man to this cruise?

"Is Fuji here?"

Right then, Fuji's voice came from the bedroom. "Who is it, Taka-san?"

"Come on in, sir." Taka-san opened the door wider and gestured for Tezuka to enter. "Please sit down. I will get Fuji-san for you."

Tezuka sat down on the couch and have a look around the room as he waited for Taka-san to get Fuji. Like his room, this was also a suite. It was decorated with a more modern touch. Blue, white and green seemed to be the color theme of the suite. There were several photographs on the wall, mostly of scenery. On a corner, pots of cacti sat, drenched in the golden sunlight pouring through the glass door leading to the balcony. Tezuka noted that this room seemed more personal than his. It seemed to fit Fuji's character. He was admiring the room's décor when Fuji entered the living room.

"Ah, Tezuka. What brought you here?"

Tezuka waited until the brunette sat down before speaking. But he was interrupted by the young man who opened he door for him earlier.

"Thank you for your help, Taka-san. That would be all." Fuji said with a smile upon noticing that Tezuka's attention was on the person behind him.

"What would you like to have for lunch?"

"Wasabi sushi will be nice."

Taka-san nodded and after bowing to both Fuji and Tezuka, left the room quietly. Tezuka stared at Fuji hard even before Taka-san closed the door behind him. Fuji ignored this and continued to smile at Tezuka. Finally, Tezuka realized that he wouldn't speak until Tezuka spoke.

"Who is he?" Tezuka finally asked with a very neutral tone that clearly spoke volumes of the emotions swirling within, whether Tezuka admitted it or not.

"He is Kawamura Takashi, our chef's son. His father has been working for m family for a long time. We're some kind of childhood friends." Fuji explained calmly. And then he gestured around the room when Tezuka didn't say anything anymore. "Do you like the décor?"

"Yes."

"This is the room I usually use whenever we use the ship. They have redecorated it slightly especially for the trip."

Tezuka looked at one photograph of Paris at night. It suddenly struck him that Fuji was the one who took the pictures. "You took these pictures yourself?"

"Yes. I sent them to nee-chan a couple of years ago. She loves Paris at night. I didn't think she's use it to decorate this suite."

"They're beautiful." Tezuka complimented honestly.

"Thank you. But I don't think you're here to check out my room, right?"

"No. I want to thank you for earlier."

Fuji nodded. "That's all right. I don't think I'll be very comfortable sharing a room with you anyway." Then he chuckled lightly at the reminiscence. "Our mothers are very eager to see us together, aren't they?"

Tezuka grunted softly in agreement. They were far too eager for his liking actually. A headache formed in his head when he thought of going through that madness everyday during the cruise. He hoped he'd still be alive and sane when they finally got home.

"Anyway, have you take a look a round the place?" At Tezuka's wordless negative reply, Fuji continued. "Then I'll be delighted to give you a personal tour."

"Aa. Thank you." From what he'd seen the ship seemed to be a magnificent place. He hadn't had the chance to explore it (and found a hiding place in when their mothers went on their mad attempt to make them an item. The broom closet he spot earlier was unfortunately too small for his built) and a tour would be very appreciated. Besides, their mothers would probably go easy on them when they see them together.

"Shall we go now? It'll be very hot soon and I'd hate to have more tan."

* * *

The cruise, Tezuka thought, have to be the most luxurious ship ever built. It was a ship meant to indulge the rich. Fuji had taken him to a mall (complete with a jewelry store among other things), a casino, and a movie theatre (that had the collection of over a thousand movie titles). There was even a small park at the heart of the ship and, much to Tezuka's delight, tennis courts. He had a feeling that he would need to play a lot of tennis to ease his nerves.

When they stopped at the tennis courts, Fuji studied Tezuka's face carefully as he stared tat the courts longingly. "I heard you play tennis." Fuji stated conversationally.

"Aa."

"You won several championships in Japan, too I heard. You must be a great player." He smiled wider when Tezuka didn't reply. It seemed like Tezuka's modesty impressed him. "I played some tennis myself. Maybe we could play tomorrow?"

"Of course." Tezuka agreed graciously. He paused at the sight of Fuji's smile. It seemed more beautiful now when he's bathed in sunlight and the soft sea wind caresses his brown hair. Tezuka shook his head mentally. What was he thinking? The summer heat must've messed his brain. "Where will the wedding take place?"

"It'll be in the park and then we'll move to the hall for the reception. Here, let me show you."

Not much had been done to the spacious room, but from what Tezuka had seen the wedding theme must be pink. Several items had been put to place for the wedding. The workers bustled busily to make sure that everything was set properly for the wedding of the century.

"Nee-chan thinks that white will make her a hypocrite." Fuji explained with an amused smile.

Tezuka remained silent as he tried to imagine himself with Yumiko in a white wedding. She would be hiding behind her smile and he would be glaring at anyone who dared to congratulate them, he imagined. And then later that night, they would…. The very idea made Tezuka shudder.

Then, he glanced at the person beside him. Fuji was explaining about the décor plan, but Tezuka wasn't listening. He replaced Yumiko with Fuji and added blue into the pure white setting of the imaginary wedding. Fuji would converse with the guests, giving Tezuka the moment for himself. And then later that night, they would go to Tezuka's room and…

"Fuji!"

Tezuka turned to se a bespectacled young man waving slightly at Fuji. In his hadn he carried a thick file.

"Inui." Fuji acknowledged him with a nod. "Excuse me for a moment, Tezuka."

Tezuka nodded and watched as Fuji talked to Inui. Inui seemed to keep looking at him, but Tezuka couldn't say for sure because his eyes were strangely obscured by his glasses. He saw Inui hand the file to Fuji and after exchanging a few more words, left to join a young man with green bandana waiting on the doorway na disappeared from view.

"That was an old friend of mine, Inui Sadaharu. He's doing a favor for me." Fuji said after a brief silence.

If the file's content was meant to be a secret then Fuji did a very bad job at hiding it. Tezuka could read the name SHIBUYA written on the file.

"You're spying on your sister's in laws?"

Fuji hummed, neither denying nor confirming Tezuka's opinion. "Nee, Tezuka, would you like to see the bowling alley?"

What kind of person Fuji was, spying on his sister's in laws like that? Tezuka made a mental not to behave more carefully when Inui was around. The young man must be some kind of P.I. or something. Not that he had that many things too hide. He could only hope that Inui wouldn't find the stash of magazines that his mother gave him as a gift for the engagement (and turned him into another shade of red but he, for some reason couldn't throw away) very exciting.

* * *

"Where were you? Mou, it seemed like lately I have to wait for you!"

Eiji's complaint was the greeting Fuji received when he entered his room. He merely smiled at his best friend. He didn't mention anything about how Eiji let himself into his suite. They were close enough that such thing as intruding each other's privacy no longer bothered them as it should.

"Gomen, Eiji. I was just showing Tezuka the ship."

Eiji's eyes widened in interest at the information. "Hoi hoi, it seemed like you're hooked, Fuji!"

"Fuji laughed lightly as a response. "I was just being kind. What about Oishi? You two spent a long time together earlier."

"Oh, he's great, Fuji!" Eiji's eyes sparkled as he began to talk about his new acquaintance earnestly. "He loves animals and we talked a lot about our pets. He actually wants to be a vet but his father forced him to study business. But he still wants to get a master degree at veterinary. He will make a good vet, nya! He has known Tezuka since they were little and is here to accompany him. He treated me at the restaurant, too, nya! He's so nice to me! And have I mentioned that his father is the vice president of Zeroshiki and he was forced to study business though he wants to be a vet?"

Fuji smiled as he listened to his friend's (somewhat nonsensical) ranting. It seemed like Eiji was attracted to Oishi. Fuji hadn't had the chance o know him further but Oishi seemed to be a decent young man. Surely Tezuka wouldn't choose a vile person to be his companion. But still, Fuji made a mental note to find out about this Oishi. There was no need for Inui's help this time, though. His job was done for now. Fuji glanced discreetly at the file he had so casually put on a table upon enterig as to not draw Eiji's attention. Or maybe not. Depending on how well the data about the Shibuya's were.

"So what do you think about Tezuka now?" Eiji asked eagerly.

Fuji smiled widely as he answered. "Same as yesterday."

"Come on, Fuji. You must've known him better now. What do you think about him?"

Fuji thought about it for a moment. Tezuka was a mystery. He was hiding behind his stern look just as Fuji was hiding behind his smile. Their true selves were yet to be uncovered. Tezuka was an unfinished puzzle to him. Fuji had managed to understand some part of him. He had learned to predict his thoughts and emotions and was now trying to figure out Tezuka's passion. And Fuji had the feeling that there's a lot of hot smoldering passion hididng behind the icy façade.

Then there's the handsome face. Being an artist, Fuji knew beauty when he saw one. Fuji was right, Tezuka was a marble statue. Made of cold pale stone, it seemed uninteresting at first, just a mere stone that despite its value and quality took to much effort to polish and carved into a beautiful statue. Many settled with admiring its value and outward characteristic, but few were willing to try hard enough to uncover the beauty lying underneath. These past few days, Fuji had seen the glimpses of the figure hidden in the block of rock and there were more waiting to be discovered by him.

Though it's hard, Fuji must admit that he was interested in Tezuka.

"He's an interesting individual." He said carefully.

"And?"

"And I think it's time for lunch. Are you hungry yet, Eiji?"

"Mou, Fujiko!"

* * *

Tezuka thought that dinner would be easy. Fuji would be with his family and he would be with his. The guests would be busy with the bride and groom and Tezuka would have a moment of peace.

He thought wrong.

First of all, his family was asked to join the Fujis and Shibuyas. It should've been an odd spectacle but everybody on board knew that their families were very close. Being one's in laws was the same a s being the other's.

And then Tezuka had to sit next to Fuji and endured all the teasing from their families. The Shibuyas had been informed of their situation and apparently found it amusing. Shouri's brother especially couldn't help staring at him all the time. He only stopped when Fuji pointedly looked at him with his widest and most 'disarming' smile that actually meant doom to whoever he directed it to.

"Fuji-san, how do you do? I'd like to congratulate the couple." Said one businessman. "Even Tezuka-san is here!"

"Well, we'd love them to join the family." Yoshiko said with a wide smile.

Tezuka choked on his wine and quietly focused his attention on the steak on his plate. Damn, should he say that?

The businessman, who hadn't a clue about the situation, smiled. "Of course."

"It'll be fun, don't you think, Tezuka-kun?"

Tezuka tried to answer Yoshiko as politely as possible when in truth he was trying not to murder her. "Of course."

"How is the preparation for the wedding? I saw the hustle in the hall. I hope you don't mind that I peeked. I couldn't help myself. The wedding will surely be wonderful." The businessman's wife said.

"The preparation is exhausting but I know it just worth it. I can't wait to do it again." Yoshiko said excitedly.

Tezuka stabbed his steak with a fork. It's too bad that it's so smooth. He didn't get enough gratification for murdering the cow again.

"And dear, don't over exert yourself. You don't want to be too tired for you big day, do you?"

"It never occurred to me how tiring it'll be. But I surely enjoy knowing that it'll be a perfect event." Yumiko said, turning to his fiancée and squeezed his hand lightly. "Now I can finally understand why some people just love weddings. I think it started to grow on me. You should hurry up, ne, Shuusuke?"

Now Tezuka could see why that woman in the movie Titanic (which Tezuka only watched after much persuading from a heartbroken Oishi… once. Of course there were legitimate reasons for the other few times he watched the movie again) ran away and nearly plunged into the ocean. The icy water was a merciful belsisng compared to this. Tezuka was now tempted to do the same. Well, without the drama, of course. He didn't want to be remembered as the young man who ran away (crying in frustration as he was tempted to do a couple of times) from his family dinner, to jump into the ocean. He had more dignity that that.

Cooling his head seemed like a good idea, though. So without minding the hour, son after dinner, Tezuka went swimming. He had initially opted to get some company to stop him in case he decided to drown himself in the swimming pool. But it seemed like Oishi was currently trying to get better acquainted with (in other words: get into the pants of…) Eiji. Really, that guy was developing a lacking sense of responsibility. Tezuka brought him here to console him and prevent his suicide, not to get laid!

The cold helped him to escape the stress. When he resurfaced for air he saw a figure walking toward the swimming pool. Since, he's not wearing his glasses, he couldn't recognize the person so he waited until the stranger came close to him and spoke.

"Night swimming, Tezuka? You could catch a cold." It was Fuji. He was wearing the white trousers and shirt he wore to dinner. The suit jacket had been removed. The shirt was only partially buttoned and was pulled out of his trousers. Tezuka noticed this when Fuji sat on the ledge of the swimming pool, folded his trousers to uncovered his legs so that he could dip his legs into the water.

"You don't join our family?" Tezuka asked as he swam closer and leaned on the ledge near Fuji.

Fuji shook his head. "I don't like casinos."

Tezuka hummed in understanding. He remained silent then, enjoying the sound of waves around them. Unlike what he dreaded conversing privately with Fuji when there was no one else around was not uncomfortable. In fact, he quite enjoyed having a silent companion with him to enjoy the moment.

"I'm sorry about kaa-san and nee-chan. They meant no harm, really. They oculd be rather… teasing at times." Fuji said softly, not quite wanting to disrupt the silence. At Tezuka's soft grunt, he smiled. "I know they made you uncomfortable. I'll try to tell them to be more discreet next time."

Yes, please. They're driving me nuts. Tezuka said inwardly. Fuji seemed to know his line of thought and smiled wide. He inhaled the salty air deeply, pulled his legs out of the water and stood. Tezuka glanced at him questioningly.

"I don't want to disturb you longer. I'll go to my room."

Tezuka didn't know hwy, but he didn't want to Fuji to leave so soon. "Would you like to join me?"

Fuji stopped in mid turn. He looked at Tezuka strangely but then smiled and shook his head. "No, I'd rather not. As you see, I'm not dressed for the occasion and I'd rather not disturb your privacy more. Good night, Tezuka."

"Good night."

With his impaired vision, Tezuka's eyes followed Fuji's figure until it disappeared. Suddenly the night felt so cold.

TBC

R&R, please.


	4. The Bachelor Party

Disclaimer: not mine

A/N: Thanks to beadartist at LJ for the beta and suggestions!

Important note: This chapter is the censored version of the real chapter. You could find the link to the uncensored one in my profile page. I'll provide a direct link to it. Thank you and please R&R!

**The Bachelor Party**

"Eiji is so nice, Tezuka. He's kind of childish sometime but I know you'll like him. He's so adorable. You should hang out with him sometimes."

What had he done to deserve hearing the ranting of a lovesick so early in the morning? Sometimes Tezuka wanted to scream to the heaven and asked about the injustice in his life. First, he was engaged to a woman nine years older than him, and then he was engaged to said woman's brother and not too mention their families were all too supportive about it (Tezuka cursed whoever put a pack of condom in his bedside drawer) and lastly his best friend fell in love with a bundle of childish energy (no, Tezuka didn't think Eiji was cute… not at all..) and neglect his role as Tezuka's unofficial shrink. He must've done something really, really bad in his previous life.

"… ne, Tezuka, are you listening?"

Tezuka sighed and rubbed his temple. Damn Oishi and his lovesickness. "I'm sorry. No."

This time it's Oishi who sighed. Tezuka wanted to point out that Oishi wasn't the one suffering from information overload of his love interest here but a knock on the door distracted him. Glad to be rescued from the flood of information about Eiji, Tezuka went to open the door.

The first thing he saw was a brilliant, almost radiant smile and then a tennis racquet. But the first thing he heard was an excited cry of 'Oishi!'. Tezuka blinked owlishly at his guests.

"Good morning, Tezuka. Have you had breakfast?" Fuji greeted him cheerfully as if he didn't have a redhead trying to walk through him to get to Oishi.

"Good morning. Yes, I have."

"Then what do you think about a game of tennis?"

Tezuka briefly recalled agreeing to play Fuji yesterday so he nodded. "All right."

Fuji smiled and peered over his shoulder. "What about you Oishi-san? Would you like to join us, too?"

Oishi stammered, his good manner undoubtedly told him not to disturb Tezuka and Fuji's 'quality time'. But a good sense as a best friend (and mother hen) told him that Tezuka would do something drastic (like murdering his pet goldfish) if he were to be left alone with Fuji in what seemed to be a date. Eiji made the decision for him, though. "C'mon, Oishi!"

"Well, if it doesn't bother you too much…"

"Of course not. Let's go." Fuji answered.

The tennis courts were fortunately unoccupied. Tezuka and Fuji played on the left most court while Eiji and Oishi played on the rightmost. Eiji had offerd to play double match but Tezuka rejected. He had played tennis long enough to know that he isn't a good doubles partner. His playing style was far too individualistic.

"Yoroshiku, ne?" Fuji said when they shook hands before playing.

"Which?" Tezuka asked, ready to decide who will serve first.

"Rough."

There's something about the way Fuji said the word that made Tezka's stomach squirmed. He wondered if Fuji was teasing him, but his attention was fixed on the racquet so Tezuka couldn't decide. He twisted the racquet and showed Fuji the result.

"Rough."

"I'll serve then." Fuji said with a smile.

Tezuka had intended to go easy on Fuji. He was confident that without his secret moves he would be able to beat Fuji just as easily. He was just going to win the first game set when Fuji did the unexpected. Tezuka narrowed his eyes as the ball that Fuji served disappeared. He stopped and suddenly heard a thumping from his left where the ball hit the court. Fuji was smiling innocently when he looked at him. But when Fuji made to serve again, Tezuka saw the look of concentration upon his face and his breath caught. Before he knew it, Fuji stole the first game set from him.

It was the toughest game Tezuka ever played. Soon he was forced to use a move he hadn't used for years after Fuji did a beautiful technique to counter him. The match lasted longer than any other matches he had ever played. Fuji was testing him to his limit. His heart was racing in his chest as he ran to chase the ball Fuji sent to him but somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice told him that the difficult match wasn't the only reason why his heart was beating so quickly. Fuji's eyes were open as he hit the ball back to Tezuka, the blue orbs barely flickered to Tezuka as they watched the direction of the ball. Tezuka suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy toward the yellow ball but quenched it down as he executed his hidden technique once more. The ball dropped just over the net and suddenly skidded back under the net to his side of the court. He had earned another point.

As they changed courts, Tezuka noticed that Eiji and Oishi had finished their match and were watching them. Inui stood behind the chain link fence and took some notes as he watched their match. Tezuka ignored them and focused on the game once more.

Tezuka was just about to serve the ball that would determine the result of their game when a drop of water fell on his cheek. He looked up to see that the sky had darkened above them. He had been so engrossed in the match that he didn't notice the change of weather.

"We must stop." Tezuka shouted to Fuji. What he saw on the other side of the court, though, struck him speechless.

Fuji was standing still on his side of the court, his body tensed, ready to return the ball. His chest was heaving and his eyes were open to look at him with such intensity that almost scared Tezuka. But Tezuka wasn't scared. If anything, he was entranced. Fuji that he knew was always smiling, always in control over his emotion. This was the first time he saw him loose his cool. He looked so passionate, so wild, so sexy.

The rain poured harder over them. Oishi and Eiji ran for cover, calling them to join them, but Tezuka paid them no heed. His entire attention was focused on the person on the court across from him. Fuji stood still, his closed eyes turned toward the stormy sky. Tezuka stayed silent, watching him, waiting for him. When Fuji looked at him, his eyes were hidden and his smile returned again.

"Let's go inside." He shouted over the heavy pouring of rain.

Tezuka nodded, stifling the sudden sense of disappointment. Together, they ran inside where Taka-san had already waited with towels in hand. They took the towels with gratitude and after drying themselves, went to the seats Taka-san got for them. For a while they simply sat in silence, drinking the hot cocoa the young butler provided.

"It was a nice game." Fuji commented lightly, sipping his warm drink.

Tezuka narrowed is eyes at Fuji. It wasn't just nice. It was the best game he had ever had.

"You are a very skilled player. What are those techniques? I've never seen anything like it before."

"They're the techniques I made a long time ago." Tezuka explained, not taking his sharp gaze off Fuji. The latter didn't seem to mind though and only smiled at him calmly. "You're a very skilled player yourself."

"Hmm?" Fuji replied absentmindedly. "Thank you. I'm nothing like you, though. I'm just a regular player."

Tezuka didn't believe him at all. Fuji was one of the best players he had ever played against. The level of their skills was almost equal, and Tezuka had played since grade school. He wondered who would have won the match had the rain not fallen.

"Do you like tennis, Tezuka?" Fuji asked. "That look on your face when we were playing… you seemed to enjoy it so much."

"Do _you_ like tennis?" Tezuka asked back, not denying Fuji's .

"It's fun. I play it occasionally." Fuji answered with a smile and sipped his drink.

Tezuka knew he wasn't lying and wondered how good Fuji could be if he truly dedicated himself to the sport. As a tennis player Tezuka thought that it was such a pity to waste what was clearly a great talent. But Fuji was Fuji and from what Tezuka had heard, it was nearly impossible to make Fuji commit to something.

"Anyway, I think we should change. We'll catch a cold at this rate."

Realizing that they were still in their wet clothing, Tezuka nodded. Together they walked to their rooms. Oishi and Eiji had gone to their rooms before them so they walked along in complete silence. It wasn't exactly a calming silence though. Tezuka had a feeling that the reason Fuji said nothing was because he had something on his mind. Understanding an eccentric mind wasn't easy. Tezuka wondered why suddenly felt like it should be one of his life goals.

"Have you ever been to bachelor party, Tezuka?" Fuji suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

Tezuka frowned, remembering the kind of parties he'd watched on movies. Wasn't it when the groom had a party involving alcohol and the night before the wedding? "No." he said with a finality that said that he had never and would never go to such thing.

Fuji ignored this though. "I want to throw a bachelor party for Shouri. Would you like to join us?"

"No."

"Maa, there won't be any strippers, Tezuka. We're practically going to do it around our parents, remember? Plus I don't think we can get any strippers in the middle of the ocean unless we get lucky and find a mermaid to strip for us though I doubt that would ever happen." Fuji joked. "There'll be some drink though. Interested?"

"No." Tezuka repeated for the third time. He sped up, wanting to escape this uncomfortable conversation as soon as possible. With the way Fuji was speaking, it seemed like he would not take no for an answer. Just as Tezuka reached out for the knob of the door leading to his room, Fuji slipped between him and the door and smiled mischievously.

"C'mon, Tezuka. It'll be fun. Accompany me at the very least." Fuji purred. "Please?"

Tezuka froze as his groin tightened. An image of Fuji on his hands and knees, crawling towards him and purring out 'please' came unbidden to his mind. He took a cautious step back. What was wrong with him?

Not realizing the direction Tezuka's mind was turning, Fuji continued to smile. He revealed his beautiful blue eyes as he stepped closer to Tezuka. "Please?"

Fighting back a blush, Tezuka cleared his throat and asked, "Where?"

Fuji smile widened at the acquiescence. "Actually if you don't mind, I want to do it in your room."

Tezuka scowled. "_My_ room?"

"Shouri's room is close to our parents'. Eiji's is close to the guests. My room is unfitting for the occasion at the moment. I just received a delivery of art supplies." Fuji smiled his best smile, a cross between a seductive, innocent and wicked smile. "There won't be too many guests and I'll take care of everything. Please?"

Fuji's pleases seemed to have a strange effect on him. "Fine." Tezuka relented finally.

"Thank you." Fuji said happily. Tezuka mused how childish he could be when he got what he wanted. "I'll come to your room later to set up."

Tezuka watched as Fuji went to his room. The young man waved to him before closing the door to his room when he saw that Tezuka was watching him. With a sigh, Tezuka entered his room. Fuji's pleas still rang clear in his ears.

* * *

Fuji and Taka-san came to Tezuka's room later that evening. Together they decorated his room, turning it from lovely and understated to something akin to a bar. Tezuka just stood watching, refusing to take any part in preparing a party he was forced to attend. Soon after they had finished the guests started to pour in and the party began.

Most of the guests were Shouri's friends and relatives, but for some reason Eiji and Oishi were also present. Perhaps Fuji had invited them to calm down Tezuka if he blew up over seeing his room being demolished. But if so, then they had failed their purpose completely because they only spent no more than a minute with Tezuka before disappearing into a distant corner. Fuji himself chose to make himself invisible, silently watching the crowd' especially Shouri. Thus proving that Fuji's objective for throwing the party wasn't entirely for Shouri's entertainment, but also as a way to asses his soon-to-be brother in law. Tezuka pondered about locking the door to the balcony to prevent Fuji from tossing the groom overboard should he prove unsuitable for his sister. Tezuka decided against it because he would like to have a place to escape to when the party grew out of control as he suspected would soon happen once the men each had several bottles of beer.

Tezuka couldn't fathom how many times Shouri's brother's (Yuuri. Is that his name?) blond companion had steeped on his foot that night. Tezuka thought they looked suspicious with the way the blond kept glaring and pouting every time Yuuri as much as opened his mouth to speak with someone, especially Fuji.

Tezuka was rather surprised when he saw Yuuta sneaking into the room. When Fuji spotted him and happily welcomed him to the party he said that he merely came to make sure that the party didn't go out of hand. However he ended up sitting uncomfortably still (as far away as possible from Fuji who kept hinting for him to pole dance in a negligee their sister apparently bought for him in a moment of rage/madness/Medusa mode) all the while watching over Shouri's every move.

The party did get out of hand about two hours later. Shouri had loosened up and was lamenting his soon-to-end bachelorhood and soon-to-begin fatherhood to some of his friends. The blond took one too many sips of his beer and was currently strangling Yuuri while confessing his love for him. One of the guests who turned out to be the blonde's older brother (Tezuka couldn't see how they were related as they were so unlike each other) had the presence of mind to stay sober and watch over everyone to make sure that no harm was done. Yuuta was also drunk and was muttering something about an unrequited love that Tezuka hope Fuji would never hear of. Meanwhile, Oishi and Eiji were still in their little love corner, totally oblivious to the world outside of theirs. Tezuka was rather concerned that they might start making out there in front of everyone though he doubted that anyone would notice seeing as how most of the guests were already drunk.

Tezuka soon felt lost in his own room. He looked around for the person responsible for this chaos and found him in the balcony, looking up to the dark sky above. Tezuka joined him as soon as one of the drunken guests suggested a karaoke contest. The room was thankfully soundproof so that when he closed the glass door behind him, only a fraction of the unrecognizable noise was heard.

He stared at Fuji's back for a while before walking to stand next to him. A glance told him that Fuji was holding a can of beer while looking up to the sky above. Tezuka directed his eyes to the silver sphere above as soon as his brain started to notice the paleness of Fuji's skin under the silver moonlight and how delicate he looked right now.

"It's a beautiful night, ne?" Fuji said, his voice soft as usual.

"Aa."

"Don't you think it deserved to be immortalized in a picture?"

"Aa." Tezuka paused. "Do you want to…"

Fuji tilted his head to one side. "No. Tonight I just want to enjoy the moment while it lasts."

Silence wrapped over them once again. Tezuka sipped his beer, enjoying the soothing sound of the waves. Fuji was completely still as wind caressed their bodies, teasing their hairs and clothing to dance to the song of a silent night.

"What are they doing inside?"

Tezuka glanced behind him and almost shuddered when he saw Yuuta screaming something to the microphone while jumping up and down on the table. "They're doing karaoke."

Fuji smiled softly. "Sound like fun. Do you want to join them?"

"Do you?"

"No. I'm a horrible singer." Fuji answered with a chuckle.

"So are they."

Fuji's chuckle turned into a laugh, melodious as the wave of the ocean. "I didn't know you're capable of that."

"Of what?"

"Cynicism. You seemed to be a kind and perfect young man."

"So are you."

Fuji hummed and took a sip of his beer. "I won't argue."

"Never judge a book by its cover."

"Looks are deceiving."

Tezuka smiled lightly at that. He raised his beer can for a toast with the wind. "I'll drink to that."

Fuji agreed and together they drank their beer. "So much for seeing is believing." He paused. "I'll drink to that, too."

Tezuka agreed and they drank again. Fuji offered him a new can of beer when he found out that Tezuka's was now empty. "Thank you." Tezuka took the can an opened it.

"Doesn't that make you think of what could happen to us someday?" Fuji suddenly asked after several moments of comfortable silence.

The beer can paused in its way to Tezuka's lips. "Aa." He said before gulping his beer.

"Do you think we'll get married?"

Tezuka frowned lightly. "We've discussed this."

Fuji smiled. "Then I'll change my question. Do you want to marry me?"

"It's convenient for…"

"What do you think of me?" Fuji asked as he turned to face Tezuka.

Tezuka hesitated to answer but slowly faced Fuji to give his answer anyway. "You're nice, kind, eccentric, unique, mysterious, good-looking, handsome, beautiful." The drink had loosened his tongue but he was barely aware of it. The sight of Fuji looking so vulnerable in the embrace of the night, yet so attentive to him drove all rational thought out of his head. "Lovely, attractive. Extremely so."

"So…?" Fuji asked so softly that Tezuka thought he had dreamt of it.

"Hmm?"

"Extremely so…?"

Tezuka closed his eyes, trying to recall what he had said. But the wind had carried them away and the alcohol clouded his brain making it difficult for him to think of anything beyond this moment. He opened his eyes to look straight into clear blue orbs that expected an answer.

"Kind?" Fuji tried to help. "Eccentric? Mysterious? Beautiful? Attractive?"

Tezuka nodded. "All that."

Fuji seemed rather awed. "Thank you. But looks can be deceiving."

"I know you." Tezuka insisted softly.

"Do you, I wonder?" Fuji replied with a bemused smile.

"Perhaps not as well as I thought, but I know what I see."

"And what do you see?"

Tezuka paused, thinking. The alcohol impaired his ability to think clearly. He couldn't think of a word to describe what he had in mind. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind slightly to grant Fuji an answer before opening them again shortly. "You. I see you, Fuji Shuusuke."

The smile froze, the eyes turned glassy. Fuji looked away from him and drank his beer to the last drop. Then he took a fresh can of beer.

"And what did you see in me?" Tezuka suddenly found himself asking.

Fuji paused and then smiled. "Not very different from what you said earlier."

Perhaps the confession should've made him embarrassed but Tezuka was strangely warmed by it. "Oh."

They finished their drink in silence. Not a word passed between them even as Fuji took two cans of beer and offered one to Tezuka.

"We should go in. It's getting cold out here." Fuji said after they both finished their drinks.

Tezuka nodded in agreement. He turned and caught Fuji just as the latter tripped on his own feet and almost fell to the floor. "How many cans have you had?"

Fuji giggled softly. "Fourish? What about you?"

Tezuka sighed and pulled Fuji up. Suddenly he found their bodies pressed close to each other, the natural sweet scent of Fuji and the sight of Fuji's flushed face so close to his made him . He shook himself out of his reverie when the glass door vibrated from the force of someone's voice. "The same as you. Let's go inside."

Seeing the two enter clinging to each other, Shouri took the initiative to stop the party. The drunken guests left with some complaints but the sober ones kindly led them away. Eiji offered to help Fuji return to his room but Fuji refused, saying that he wanted to clean the room. Despite knowing that it couldn't be true because Fuji could barely stand straight at that point, Eiji left him anyway, tempted by the chance to spend the rest of the night with Oishi. Soon only Fuji and Tezuka were left in the room.

"Thank you, Tezuka. I know you don't like parties but you allowed this anyway." Fuji slurred as he sat on a couch to gain his senses.

"I didn't really mind."

Fuji nodded. "I'll ask Taka-san to clean this later." Fuji stood up and immediately lost his balance. Tezuka caught him for the second time that night. But this time, Tezuka pulled Fuji close to him and didn't let go.

"I didn't really like the party. But I like having you with me." It was an honest slip of tongue, but Tezuka was beyond caring right now.

Fuji froze for a second and then he smiled. "I'm glad."

Fuji lifted his face.

Tezuka lowered his.

Sweet, sweet electricity ran through their bodies the moment their lips met. But there was nothing tender about the kiss at all. As soon as the kiss began, it turned passionate. Their tongues tangled with each other, branding each other's mouth with indecipherable marks on the soft pallets. Fuji wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck as they devoured each other's mouths. Tezuka's pulled Fuji closer by his hips and grinded his growing erection on Fuji's stomach as he slipped a leg between Fuji's thighs. Fuji moaned lustfully as he ground his trapped erection against Tezuka's powerful thigh. Drowning in a sea of scent and taste and feel of each other, their need for air was forgotten and their lust burnt brighter.

Fuji broke their kiss with a groan and started to trail kisses down Tezuka's neck and chest. Then his mouth closed over a cloth covered nub and he started to lick and sucked on it. Tezuka moaned out loud and ran his hand down Fuji's back to knead a pert bottom. The sudden pressure caused Fuji to bite his nipple, sending a wave of pleasure-pain running over Tezuka. Unable to control himself anymore, Tezuka lifted Fuji into his arms and carried him over to his bedroom. Fuji assisted him by wrapping his legs around Tezuka's hips but the passionate kiss he once again shared with Tezuka did nothing to help Tezuka when he fumbled with the doorknob. At long last, the door opened and the two tumbled inside.

--censored, sorry for the inconvenience--

It took him a long moment to gather his senses. He kissed Fuji slowly and tenderly as Fuji unconsciously milked him off he last of his essence. Then with a soft grunt, he pulled out of his fiancée, laid next to him and gathered him into his arms. They shared one last kiss before drifting to sleep… and into tomorrow.

* * *

Review?? And again, to those who wants to read the original version, you'll find the link in my profile page.


	5. The Morning After

Disclaimer: not mine.

**The Morning After**

When Tezuka woke up, a wave of violent headache and nausea hit him like a concrete wall. He groaned softly in misery. Hadn't he suffered enough? First, he was engage to another male, then he had to deal with their demented family, then he had to host a bachelor party and... Tezuka's heart skipped a beat. He glanced to his side slowly, finally realizing the weight on his left side.

Fuji was resting comfortably on his side. His arm was slung across Tezuka's torso while Tezuka's left arm was wrapped around Fuji. They were naked, they were sticky, and they were far too close to each other for decency. Tezuka's first thought was: 'crap!'. His second thought was: 'oh, yeah!'.

He must still be dreaming. Not that Tezuka had enough imagination to bring someone like Fuji into his dreamland. The most imaginative thing he had ever dreamt of was the Tennisland where the grass never grew tall and tennis ball grew of trees. Where the people wear clothes in the shape of tennis balls and roast fishes with tennis racquet and he, Prince Tezuka lived in the glorious Wimbledon Castle… Okay so maybe Tezuka did have a broad imagination. But certainly he never dreamt of having people drooling on his chest.

Carefully Tezuka tried to slip from under Fuji. He succeeded in disentangling himself and only caused a slight stir on the brunette. He stood near the bed, still trying to grasp the situation. Laying on his (very large, very messy, and very stained) bed was Fuji Shuusuke, who was his fiancée, who was beautiful, who looked incredibly sexy despite the drool, who had a body that would arouse a marble statue, and most importantly with whom he must not be attracted let alone sleep with! Tezuka frowned when his lower body disagreed with that last line of thought. But if Fuji could arouse a marble statue then who was Tezuka to blame himself.

A douse of cold water could really help right now. So Tezuka went to have a cold shower as silently as possible. Too bad that when he saw the 'love marks' on his naked body, his mind went straight down to the gutter. When he had finished his quick shower, Fuji was still sleeping so he went to the living room to make some coffee to relief his hang over. It brought instead, the memory of what happened last night.

Fuji was so responsive, so passionate, so hot. His body was perfect, his skin soft, his lips warm, his… Tezuka shook his head but failed to shut out the memory. Images of last night flooded his mind instead, testing his sanity. Fuji's mouth opened to voice his pleas and gasp his name, Fuji's fair skin flushed in arousal, Fuji's body arched as he…

Tezuka looked up guiltily when he heard the door open. He had the mind to take a pillow to cover his lap just as Fuji exited his bedroom. Nervous hazel eyes met confused blue ones. They stared at each other, unsure of how to break the awkward silence.

"Are you all right?" Tezuka asked neutrally, hoping that his voice didn't deter as much as it sounded to him.

"Yes." Fuji answered with an uncertain smile. "Thank you. I, uh, I better return to my room. I have to help with the wedding."

Tezuka nodded for the lack of better response. "Of course."

"See you later, then." With another hesitant smile, he left Tezuka's room.

As soon as the door closed behind Fuji, Tezuka buried his face in his palms and groaned. And not out of pleasure, mind you. He was so damned.

* * *

What was he thinking? What the hell was he thinking? How could he let himself get drunk enough to sleep with Tezuka? Granted, it was his oh-so-gorgeous fiancee and not some gross drunk old man on the street. But still, he wasn't supposed to sleep with Tezuka!

The soreness all over his body taught him that beer, romantic voyage and gorgeous fiancée weren't a good combination. This wasn't how he pictured his first time to be! Fuji wanted it to be romantic, loving and gentle and certainly not animalistic! Though it did feel good when Tezuka's c... Okay, stop right there!

Fuji toweled himself dry, got dressed, and had his breakfast. In other words, he tried to be his normal self. But he failed horribly at it. He spent too long staring at his reflection on the mirror, watching the reddish marks that had started to form all over his body and then berating himself mentally for taking even the slightest bit of pride in them. His concentration kept wavering when he ate, his mind continued to wander to the kisses he had shared with Tezuka. Thankfully, Taka-san wasn't the most observant person. He was too busy preventing Inui to slip his hangover juice into Fuji's food.

Deciding that he needed fresh air to clear his muddled brain, Fuji left his suite to the deck. But the deck was no filled with the crews preparing for the wedding. The noisewas unbearable to Fuji whose head was still pounding. He went to the side deck, hoping to find peace and quiet and instead found the source of his problem.

Tezuka was standing by the railing. The sea wind blew his hair and the sunlight shone on him. Just gazing off into the sea like that, Tezuka could pass as an art piece.Fuji found himself gaping at the sight for a moment. He shook his head and turned to leave, not wanting to see Tezuka just yet. Unfortunately for him, Tezuka caught his motion and turned to see him.

What is one supposed to say at times like this anyway? 'Thank you for last night'? 'That hurt, you bastard!'? 'Can we do it again soon?'? 'Nice body. Have you been working out?'? "Hi." Fuji greeted Tezuka for the lack of better thing to say.

"Hi."

They stared at each other for a few moments. The tension felt so thick Fuji could cut it with a knife. He wanted to flee but he might trip before making the first step. Since he couldn't move, Tezuka could at least do or say something, right? C'mon, he was quite talkative last night. Where did all those vocabulary go?

"About last night..."

Of all things he could say... Of all words he could pick, why, why did he choose those words? Fuji shifted uncomfortably, searching for something to say. "I…"

Just as he began speaking, strong wind accompanied by loud whirling sound started to blow. They looked around in confusion. Either they were caught in a sudden typhoon or they have somehow entered the Bermuda triangle. Well, there was another possibility but who would… Fuji looked up to confirm this possibility and felt his spirit sank.

Of course no one else would cross hundred of miles of ocean on a blimp to get to their ship other than Atobe. Fuji glanced at Tezuka who was frowning at the sight of a huge silver blimp hovering over the ship, ready for touch down. The taller youth turned his gaze back to him and soon they've reached an agreement. Together they went to welcome their new guest.

"Be awed by my presence." Atobe said the moment he got off the blimp and saw Tezuka and Fuji. He was followed closely by a tall moving stack of suitcases which was actually his personal butler.

"Atobe. Welcome. It's an honor to have you in our ship." Fuji said, extending a hand to shake hands with the diva. He smiled pleasantly, knowing that this was the son to an important client of his father.

Atobe smiled sultrily and took Fuji's smooth hand in his. "The pleasure is all mine." He said as he bowed and kissed Fuji's knuckles.

Blushing, Fuji pulled his hand back. Atobe didn't seem to mind his rudeness and merely smirked at him. Though this wasn't the first time Atobe had advanced him openly, Fuji felt a lot more self-conscious this time. He wasn't quite ready to deal with courting while so fresh out of someone- Tezuka's bed.

Atobe's attitude changed drastically as he turned his attention to Tezuka who was standing behind Fuji all this time. "Tezuka." He greeted the tall youth coolly.

Fuji watched this exchange in slight confusion. He didn't quite understand what was going on between the two but quickly decided that he's taking Tezuka's side. "Atobe." Tezuka answered the greeting with a sharp glare.

Thankfully, Fuji's parents soon came to rescue soon. Atobe divert his attention to the couple, a pleasant yet arrogant smile now plastered on his face. "Fuji-san, nice to meet you. My father apologizes for not being able to come. He sent me here in his place if you don't mind."

Fuji watched them chatted amiably. Something told him that his life was going to get a little more complicated for here on.

* * *

Tezuka was in a dark mood throughout the wedding. People opted to stay away from the young heir fearing the scowls that now seemed to be permanently cemented on his face. Fuji was the only one who dared to be close to him though Tezuka wasn't sure if the brunette did so because he truly liked his company or to avoid Atobe.

"I now pronounced you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Everyone clapped their hands as the now-legal couple kissed. As soon as the ceremony ended, they moved to the hall for the reception. The large room had been transformed into a beautiful dining area with a dancing area. The color theme for this room, red and gold, suited the sunset that would soon fall. Roses and candles were placed all around the room and on the tables to give a romantic atmosphere.

Tezuka was rather taken by the atmosphere as well. The scowl had gradually softened as he watched the newlywed couple danced their first dance as husband a wife from his seat next to Fuji. Not really paying attention to other people in their table- Oishi, Eiji, and Yuuta, Tezuka secretly glanced at Fuji. The brunette looked absolutely gorgeous in his suit. A beautiful smile splayed on his face as he watched his sister, not realizing Tezuka's gaze on him. Tezuka caught his mother glancing meaningfully at Fuji and looked away, his scowl returning as his face burnt slightly in embarrassment.

"May I borrow your hand?"

Tezuka turned his attention from the couples on the dance floor to find Atobe standing next to Fuji, bowing slightly as he waited for the brunette's acquiescing hand. Fuji glanced at his companions. Yuuta looked astounded while Eiji and Oishi merely gaped at them. His eyes lingered on Tezuka who looked back at him stoically. Fuji hesitated for a wile but then reached for Atobe's hand and smiled.

"Of course." He said with a smile.

Atobe led Fuji to join other couples but not before throwing a victorious smirk to Tezuka. Tezuka inhaled deeply to calm himself when the two started to dance. To him, Fuji seemed inappropriately happy dancing with Atobe. He kept smiling and even occasionally laughed at something Atobe would whisper to his ear.

Neither of his other companions dared to speak to him. They could only watch as Tezuka murder whatever was on his plate and smothered whatever drink the waiter gave him. Finally Eiji rescued himself and his love interest by asking him to dance with him, leaving Yuuta alone to deal with the cold blazing ball of fury that was Tezuka. Yuuta threw them a betrayed look that Eiji answered with an apologetic grin. The youngest Fuji watched Tezuka cautiously, as if afraid that the taller male would attack him with his fork anytime.

"Ano… Tezuka-san?" Yuuta began hesitantly. When Tezuka only looked at him and not start to make him jump off board, he continued. "What do you feel about Aniki?"

Tezuka paused in his attempt to mutilate a poor cauliflower. At first he was worried that Yuuta might have found out about what had happened last night. If he could loose himself enough to sleep with Fuji, he might have been unaware of Yuuta's presence in his room. "What do you mean?"

"You seem very… upset to Atobe-san." Yuuta said, tilting his head to he dance floor. "Are you… jealous of him?"

Indeed Tezuka was upset. But it was because of Atobe's shameless seduction to Fuji. The diva should've had more manner than to openly court Fuji in public. He wasn't jealous or something. After all Fuji was just someone betrothed to him for the sake of their families… Fuji was just his fiancée whom he just slept with last night… Fuji was just a fiancée he should leave one day in the near future… Tezuka wasn't jealous of Atobe. He was only concerned of Fuji and the future of their parents' companies. "No. I'm not."

His body betrayed him, though, when Atobe seated himself beside him. His hand clenched on the wine glass he was holding and he refused to look at the silver-haired youth. He turned his eyes to Fuji who was dancing with Yumiko, knowing that Atobe was doing the same. Feeling the dark aura that surrounded the table, Yuuta immediately rescued himself from the war zone by grabbing the nearest person around and dragged him to the dance floor, not minding the fact that his dance partner was some sixty years old woman.

"What a shame to neglect such beautiful fiancée." Atobe began, swirling the fine wine in his crystal glass. "If he were mine, I would lavish him, spoil him in anyway I can." He paused to let the words sank in on Tezuka. He then placed his glass down and leaned a little closer to Tezuka. "What I wouldn't give to make him mine." He mused with a smirk that was obvious in his smug voice.

Tezuka clenched his jaws. If looks could kill, this party would be a massacre.

* * *

A/N: I plan to update on my birthday (some time on September) because college will start soon and I will need a bit of time to adjust to my new schedule. I hope you understand. So, what do you think about this one?


	6. The Island of Doom

Latest entry. Enjoy!

**The Island of Doom**

Tezuka spent the next couple of days with Fuji and Atobe, ignoring the approving thumbs up their mothers gave. Eiji commented, though, that instead of being a good company, he acted more like Fuji's bodyguard, glaring murderously at Atobe whenever he got within five feet away from Fuji. He hadn't had chance to have a private conversation with Fuji ever since Atobe's arrival because of his constant presence near the artist. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or disturbed by that fact. Things had indeed gotten a bit awkward between Tezuka and Fuji for a while. They weren't speaking to each other, only smiling (on Fuji's part) and nodding (on Tezuka's part) whenever they have to communicate, like when Tezuka see Fuji to his suite (and made sure that the door is securely locked as to not allow entry to Atobe).

The most annoying part about thing whole fiasco concerning Atobe was that Tezuka couldn't really hate him. Whether intentionally or not, he had brought back Fuji's smile. Tezuka wasn't sure of what Fuji's feeling for Atobe might be, but he certainly knew that Fuji found the diva's antics amusing. Watching him lightened his mood and eventually led to conversations though they dared not touch the subject of what happened the night before the wedding.

Somehow Tezuka managed to endure Atobe's numerous 'be awed by my prowess' moments, though by the time they got to the private island several days later, he had probably scared half of the guests with his scowls, glares and even occasional growls.

The tropical island was beautiful. Just like the cruise ship, it was mostly used to be getaway resort for the wealthy. There were many cottages on the island where the guests would be staying. Yumiko and Shiori would stay in the best and most remote lot. While the couple's and Tezuka's families would be staying at the main mansion on the hill overlooking the whole island. Tezuka thought that the arrangement was rather weird; why should his parents also be in the main house? But he got his answer soon enough.

"But there isn't any more rooms in the main house and the cottages are all booked." Yoshiko insisted. "There is no choice but for you two to stay together in the same cottage."

"I can't share a room with him." Tezuka said, frowning.

"Why not?" Aya asked her son, almost innocently.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji but the petite brunette just looked at him expectantly. Clearly this time he wasn't inclined to help Tezuka.

"I'm not comfortable sharing this place with somebody else." Certainly not sharing the same enclosed space with only one bedroom. He ignored the nagging part of him that demanded him to nod his head in agreement, and glared at Yoshiko and Ayana instead.

"But where should Shuusuke stay, then? There's no more place left." Ayana said.

"…"

"You couldn't possibly expect Shuusuke to stay with someone else, could you?" Yoshiko gasped scandalously.

Tezuka gave the woman a dark look. He heard Fuji chuckled beside him and knew he had lost the argument. Before them, their mother's faces brightened as they exchanged victorious looks.

"Sorry." Fuji apologized later after their mothers had left.

"It's all right." Tezuka said, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the pounding headache. What would happen tonight? What should he do when they had to share the same bed? He glanced at the said bed and felt his face burnt slightly as his mind supplied him with various ways of sharing a bed with Fuji. Damn his awakening perversion!

"Would you like me to show you around the island?" Fuji asked, breaking Tezuka's imagination. "Or would you rather stay inside? You seemed flushed."

Tezuka cleared his throat, embarrassed to be caught thinking about ecchi things. He was Tezuka Kunimitsu, he was supposed to be asexual! Never mind the fact that Fuji had proved him to be otherwise. "Wouldn't you rather have someone else to show the island to?" he asked grouchily to hide his embarrassment

"Hmm?"

"Atobe?" Tezuka said almost bitterly.

"Well, I do plan to bring him along, too. The more, the merrier, ne?"

Tezuka sighed, knowing that he had lost two arguments in a day. Half an hour later, he found himself in a jeep with Fuji, Oishi, Eiji and Atobe. Taka-san drove as Fuji explained what they're seeing. The boy was oblivious as Atobe and Tezuka sat side by side, holding back the urge to claw each other's pretty face raw. So much for being a genius.

* * *

"It's getting late. We should sleep."

"We should."

With those said, they both stared at the bed before them.

They had drawn out the afternoon and evening, visiting places around the island and entertaining their guest but eventually it came to this. Eiji and Oishi joined them before retreating to the cottage they shared. Atobe had drawn out his visit but then admitted defeat in delaying the inevitable when the time came for his beauty sleep.

Fuji had tried to ignore and forget but the major fact that he had to share this bed with Tezuka for several nights to come couldn't be ignored. He knew what was possible now and a part of him wanted it again. The less amorous part of him told him that he must absolutely _not_ let that happened again though. But who knew what could happen at night when their minds were too fuddled to think clearly and the proximity and warmth of each other roused their primal needs?

"So which side do you want?"

"Whichever is fine with me."

Fuji nodded. "I'll take this side, then." He said, approaching the right side of the bed. He settled beneath the blanket, basking in the proximity of the other male beside him and tensing in fear of even the simplest skin contact. Fuji stared at the ceiling, hoping that sleep would soon come and bring him oblivion. Unfortunately, Morpheus wasn't so kind to him tonight and he remained awake long after he went to bed. Fuji felt Tezuka sighed softly and shifted next to him and smiled. It seemed like he wasn't alone in this situation. "This is awkward." He said with a chuckle.

"It is." Tezuka said quietly.

"Should we count sheep until we sleep? One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…"

"This isn't working."

"Do you prefer to count tennis balls, then? One ball, two balls, three balls…"

"You're noisy."

"What do you usually do when you have trouble sleeping?"

Tezuka sighed. "I think about my professor's most boring lectures."

Fuji chuckled. "Really?"

"Really."

"I usually think of things to look forward to tomorrow. It makes me want to sleep so that the night would pass faster."

"… Fuji."

"Hmm?"

"It's nearly midnight." Tezuka said, turning to face the unclear shadow beside him.

"We should sleep, then."

Tezuka gave his fiancée a look. Finally, Fuji conceded and got up from bed. The cold night air hit his body and he could hear the faint sound of wave crashing into the shore in the distance.

"What are you doing?" Tezuka asked from the bed.

"Helping us get a good night sleep." Fuji brought their suitcases to bed and put it between them. With the suitcases between them, they could only see each other's face. Fuji smiled at Tezuka once he made himself comfortable. "Good night, Kunimitsu."

"… Good night."

* * *

Tezuka was awakened the next morning by heavy pounding from the front door. He frowned lightly, wondering who might be on the door so early in the morning. Taka-san wouldn't have pounded on the door so impatiently and even Eiji would show some manner. Tezuka put on his glasses and looked over the luggage that separated him from Fuji.

There was a tiny frown on Fuji's face but otherwise, he seemed to be completely undisturbed by the noise. For a while Tezuka found himself staring in awe at the peaceful expression on Fuji face. His face burnt slightly when he remembered the nearly similar sight several days ago so he cleared his throat and reached out to shake Fuji's shoulder.

"Wake up, Fuji. Someone's at the door."

Fuji pouted and snuggled deeper into his pillow. "Five more minutes." He murmured sleepily. Clearly he isn't a morning person.

Tezuka shook his head in amusement and wariness and got up from bed. He threw on a bath robe before going to the living room to open the door for the insistent visitor/intruder. He scowled when he saw the most annoying smirk upon opening the door.

"Good morning, Tezuka. May I come in?" Atobe said with a devious smile.

Despite wanting to refuse, Tezuka still moved to the side to allow Atobe entry. He cursed his fine upbringing then. If only his parents had taught him to act on his impulses and instinct instead of common courtesy, he would've thrown the guy out to the sea and hoped that some sharks found him edible, thus saving the sanity and future peace of the world.

"Thank you. Give that to him, Kabaji."

Tezuka could only blink as Atobe's zombie butler (he didn't look very humane to Tezuka) handed him an armful of picnic basket along with an umbrella and a blanket. He tried to glare at Atobe over the mountain of items in his arms but the silver haired diva wasn't paying attention to him.

"You may leave now, Kabaji." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand while looking around the living room.

"Usu." Kabajii replied, and thus confirming Tezuka's guess that he wasn't entirely human. He left the cottage, closing the door behind him on Tezuka's face.

"Where is Fuji?" Atobe asked as soon as his butler was not in the immediate vicinity.

"He's still sleeping."

"Then ore-sama will offer himself to wake Fuji up, seeing that you must start your day soon."

Tezuka frowned. He was just about to do some serious bodily harm to Atobe when the door to the bedroom suddenly opened revealing a cheery-looking Fuji in a bathrobe.

"Who was it, Kunimitsu? Oh, it's you, Atobe. What have we done to deserve your visit so early in the morning?" Fuji greeted them without a single trace of sleepiness in his face. How he did that in a span of three minutes was beyond Tezuka. But the bespectacled young man's main concern was now about rescuing his fiancée from the threat of molestation coming by the name of Atobe, not on beauty tips.

"Ore-sama would like to invite you to a picnic at the beach." Atobe explained to Fuji with a smug smile.

"Sounds wonderful, don't you think, Kunimitsu?"

Atobe turned to Tezuka with a smirk that hid little of his ill intention. "Of course. Tezuka had even kindly volunteered to help us carrying some things for us."

Tezuka glared at Atobe but Fuji's sunny smile dissolve his intention of committing bloody murder. He put down the basket, blanket and umbrella on a table and dragged Fuji back into the bedroom. "We must get ready."

"That's not nice, Tezuka." Fuji chided him once they're inside the bedroom.

Tezuka gave him a pointed look that conveyed his annoyance on Atobe's implicit meaning behind his early morning picnic proposal. "We shouldn't make him wait too long." He said as he went to the bathroom.

The cold water did little to damp Tezuka's annoyance. He left the bathroom with a frown still attached to his face. Fuji seemed to realize his mood and smiled at him.

"I just called Eiji and Oishi and asked them to join us. Do you think that Atobe would mind?"

Tezuka paused in toweling his hair dry. "I don't think he would." He answered after a brief pause.

Fuji nodded in satisfaction and went to the bathroom. Tezuka stared at the bathroom door for a moment before resuming frying his hair. He felt slightly better now but something told him that the feeling wouldn't last very long.

* * *

Atobe didn't mind at all about Eiji and Oishi coming with them. In fact he seemed to have anticipated it. Their brief meeting had taught him enough about those two to enable him to predict their actions. First, Eiji would attack the picnic basket. Then Oishi would drag him a little away to give him a small lecture on courtesy. Next, Eiji would give Oishi a kicked puppy look and wailed 'Oishi hates me!'. Soon Oishi would be chasing the redhead around the island. It didn't take Fuji's genius mind or Inui's frighteningly accurate calculation to know that they wouldn't be returning until at least a good hour or two.

Fuji had thought that asking Eiji and Oishi to come with them was a good idea but the smirk on Atobe's face proved that he had made a slight calculation in underestimating the diva. He had been caught in an awkward situation ever since Atobe got on board. He was well aware of Tezuka's strong disliking to the silver haired young man and Atobe's own competitiveness to Tezuka. Fuji had been nagged endlessly by his mother and sister to get better acquainted to Tezuka but by doing so, he only seemed to encourage Atobe to pursue him harder.

The diva had been trying to approach Fuji since forever. He was one of the reasons why Fuji decided to continue his study abroad. Atobe's attempt to change his mind by sending a truck full of cactuses (including one particularly evil looking monstrous cactus with a purple ribbon and a name tag that introduced it as 'Tannhauser') had failed horribly and only strengthened Fuji's resolve to leave the country. Although Fuji didn't adore Atobe, he couldn't do anything about his attempt to court him. The fact that Atobe was the sole heir of one of the biggest and eldest companies in Japan which was also his father's client had refrained him from doing anything drastic.

So in his situation, Fuji couldn't decide what to do. Though preferred Tezuka's silent company, he couldn't ignore Atobe's advances either. Showing a fondness to one more than the other was a recipe for a disaster of an unimaginable magnitude.

"Tea, Fuji-kun?"

"Yes, thank you." Fuji said, smiling at Atobe. He glanced at Tezuka who was currently attempting to freeze the tropical sea with his glare. "Isn't the view magnificent, Kunimitsu?"

"Hn." Tezuka grunted his reply.

"I could help you apply sun block if you wanted to sunbathe." Atobe offered maliciously.

Tezuka turned his eyes to his companions when he heard that. He watched as Fuji considered his options. Refusing Atobe was a lengthy affair; Fuji could see that he wasn't going to give up on this. On the other hand he would like to avoid Tezuka's quiet wrath. His only hope was for Tezuka to stop Atobe.

"Yes, please." Fuji smiled. He took off his shirt and lay down on the blanket, presenting his back. He felt the weight of two pairs of eyes on him but pretended like it didn't matter to him. He turned to Tezuka's direction when he heard the sound of cap opening. The young man was glaring murderously at Atobe, causing Fuji to be slightly worried that someone would find his father's client's son mutilated body in the ocean tomorrow. The crowded beach should be a safe place. There were too many people so there wouldn't be any attempt of homicide from either Tezuka or Atobe. But not every place in the island was this crowded. Fuji could only hope that by the time they must go back, they would all still be in one piece.

* * *

Dinner was a silent and private affair. Atobe had retreated to his room to tend the bite of a crab on his royal toe. Eiji and Oishi returned just before they decided to leave the beach. They were practically glowing then and had soon excused themselves to return to their shared room.

They were supposed to have a peaceful tropical dinner tonight but the silence was almost deafening. They hadn't spoken more than necessary and seeing that they were going to be under the same roof for a while, it's a problem. After taking a deep breath, Fuji breached the subject they knew was the source of their problem.

"Today was fun, eh? We should go to the beach again soon." Fuji began with a disarming smile.

"Hn."

"Too bad Atobe stepped on the crab. I rather like the warm water." Fuji chuckled remembering the way Atobe swung his leg to get the crab off him. The diva should consider playing soccer; that crab flew quite far.

"Don't you want to visit him?" Tezuka asked coldly, clearly displeased by the topic.

"He's got his butler. He will be okay." Fuji replied, hoping that Tezuka could catch the meaning behind his indifference.

"You didn't seem this indifferent earlier." Tezuka said, referring to the way Fuji had tended to Atobe while they were waiting for his zombie butler to come to the rescue. Apparently he didn't get what Fuji was trying to say.

"Are you suggesting that I should've let him roll around the beach and called the sharks?" Fuji replied. His smile had a certain edge now. Tezuka was being unreasonable and his patience was thinning after indulging Atobe's selfishness all day long. "You know who he is."

"I do." Tezuka said coldly.

"Then you must know why I do what I do."

Tezuka looked back at Fuji defiantly. "I understand."

Fuji sighed in exasperation and annoyance. He tried not to glare at Tezuka as he stood up from his chair. "I'm going to bed early." He announced.

Fuji's mind raged with the thought of Tezuka's inconsideration as he tried to sleep. Tezuka of all people should understand the necessity of his actions. He wasn't doing this for his own pleasure, it was for his family's business. The angry thoughts accompany him to sleep and when Tezuka joined him later on, he found him sleeping with a pout on his face.

TBC


	7. Love Storm

A/N: this chapter is mutilated because of the content. Visit my LJ page for the full version. The link is in my profile page as usual. This fic is also dedicated to vierblith because I couldn't make her any birthday fic weeks ago. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: not mine.

**Love Storm**

Tezuka woke up the next morning after nearly being smothered by a chair Fuji had put between them to separate them the night before. With a long-suffering sigh, he removed the furniture and got up. That's when he noticed Fuji had left the bed. He frowned slightly. If yesterday morning was any indication, Fuji wasn't a morning person and since Tezuka woke up early, it was weird for him to wake up before Fuji.

Slightly worried, Tezuka quickly donned a bathrobe and went to the bathroom to search for Fuji. He stopped when he saw a note stuck on the mirror above the sink. It said 'I'm with Atobe' and was written in red bold capital letters for good measures. Tezuka snatched the note, read it several times, each time causing a line to form on his forehead. Finally, when his forehead was completely deformed, he crushed the paper and threw it into the waste bin.

He took a long bath, which consisted mostly of him glaring at the showerhead in an attempt to make it change the water temperature. Finally, he admitted defeat, stomped out of the bathroom to dress, and then made a call for Taka-san to bring him breakfast. When the young butler arrived, Tezuka was punching the remote control buttons to find a show that suited his dark mood. He finally settled with a news program after changing the channel about a hundred times.

"Ano, Tezuka-san," Taka-san began timidly, just as Tezuka began to eat. "Where is Fuji-san?"

Tezuka scowled when he heard his fiancé's name. "He's out." He spat out angrily.

"Are you two having a quarrel?"

The glare Taka-san received for asking the question made him stammer nervously. He immediately apologized and excused himself, perhaps worried of the bodily harm Tezuka seemed to be capable of that moment.

Quarrel? Of course not. Quarrels were for lovers, which they were not. They were just two people who happened to be engaged to each other who had an argument due to conflicts of interest; Fuji's interests would be winning Atobe's favor, whilst Tezuka's was to seriously scar the diva mentally and physically.

Tezuka understood Fuji's words last night well. They must treat Atobe politely for their families' sake, but Tezuka had difficulty bearing Atobe's blatant sexual interest in Fuji. He could've been more discreet, but this was just as expected from one as pompous as Atobe.

Mutilating his bacon wasn't satisfying enough. Soon after breakfast, Tezuka went to the entertainment centre in the middle of the island. There weren't many people there as the beach was a more appealing site to most guests. Tezuka immediately went to the tennis court where he found several familiar faces. Inui halted his game when he saw Tezuka and approached him.

"Inui Sadaharu. We have met." Inui introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu." Tezuka said, taking Inui's hand to shake it.

"My friend over there is Kaido Kaoru." Inui said, gesturing toward his companion who was drinking from a bottle of water. "So Tezuka-san, are you here for a game?"

"Aa."

"Then do you mind playing with me?" Inui asked with a mysterious glint on his glasses.

Not having any reason to refuse, Tezuka agreed. After all, nothing was better than tennis to relief his frustration. Soon, they were on the opposite sides of the court, playing with all their might. Inui turned out to be a more than decent player. He had fast and powerful serves and soon had won four games from Tezuka. Tezuka also noted the spiky haired young man seemed to have anticipated his moves. It was a curious thought. Tezuka had never encountered a player who could predict his movements with such accuracy. He wouldn't give up easily just because of that, though.

Within a span of only several serves, Tezuka was forced to use his original techniques. One of them Inui managed to block, but the other defeated him. When they shook hands later, though, Inui seemed to be very satisfied with himself despite his loss. He even invited Tezuka to join him and Kaido for a cup of tea. Tezuka was going to protest, but Inui insisted and he ended up with them in the cafeteria.

"So Tezuka-san, how is your relationship with Fuji progressing?" Inui asked as soon as the drooling waitress left their table.

Tezuka cleared his throat, annoyed and slightly concerned. He reminded himself Inui was a private investigator, gathering data was his job. Curiosity must be a part of his nature as well and thus it wasn't so unusual that he asked questions, private as they might be. However, what if he told other people? Tezuka's head pounded with the mere thought of other people knowing his doomed life.

"Don't worry. Your data, along with Fuji's, are safe with me. So, how is the relationship progressing?" Inui asked again, his pen hovered readily over a book that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Tezuka glanced at Kaido who was making odd hissing sound, as if disapproving of Inui's directness. He cleared his throat again and answered, "It's going well."

"Atobe has been pining over Fuji ever since he left for Europe. He certainly didn't waste any time to get to Fuji now that he's back in Japan. Atobe seems to be making his move aggressively. How do you cope with that?"

This time Tezuka frowned as he answered, recalling the event that took place the previous day. "I deal with it just fine. Do you know him?"

"Yes. Fuji and I were in the same elementary school. Atobe started to his courting when we were in fourth grade. He never failed to send Fuji gifts during any occasion. After he swarmed our classroom with flowers and pink heart shaped balloon in our final year, Fuji left for Europe. Ever since then, he has went out with 37 males, all of whom had certain resemblance with Fuji, whether in hair color, eye color, skin tone, voice, taste in food, and interest in plants, to mention a few. Currently, he has been single for three months and six days, ever since Fuji returned to Japan. In fact, he ditched his latest ex-boyfriend 3.067 seconds after he received the news of Fuji's return while they were dining in Atobe's house."

Tezuka blinked. With that much information, it was easy to mistake Inui for a stalker. Briefly, he wondered how Fuji acquainted himself with these people, but a more urgent matter pushed the thought back. "How was his chance of getting Fuji?"

Inui scribbled something on his notebook. "If he keeps this up his chance will raise to 57 percent."

So, Atobe was almost certain to get Fuji, huh? It seems like it's only a matter of time before Fuji finally relents to Atobe's tireless advances. Tezuka drank the bitter tea he ordered angrily.

"However, if you decide to interfere, his chance will lower to 34 percent."

Tezuka raised his eyebrow slightly when Kaido smacked Inui's head lightly and hissed at him to mind his own business. Inui ignored him though, and acted as if nothing happened. He gazed unwaveringly at Tezuka, a tiny smirk twitching the edges of his lips. "Frankly, I hope you interfere. I don't like Atobe very much. I think you share my opinion in that."

Tezuka was about to give a diplomatic answer, but a loud booming sound interrupted him. A glance outside showed the previously clear blue sky had now darkened. Cold, wet wind blew quickly outside, accompanied by menacing thunders. Tezuka could tell what Inui was going to say even before he opened his mouth.

"Chances of storm 99 percent." The spiky haired young man muttered. "We should go."

* * *

Fuji wasn't quite sure what possessed him to go to Atobe's cottage so early in the morning. He had woken up earlier than usual this morning, and was suddenly overcome by annoyance when he saw Tezuka's sleeping face. Knowing one way or another he would have to face Atobe's unwelcome courting, he decided to face it without Tezuka by his side. He was tired of appeasing both of them. At least Atobe was clearer about his intentions, unlike Tezuka.

Apparently, he came too early for the diva. He was still using his hair curler when he greeted Fuji. It didn't take very long for Fuji to convince him to keep him company, Atobe readily if not eagerly- agreed to his request. Very soon, they were on a boat, having breakfast under the tropical sun.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring anyone with you." Atobe commented lightly as they were eating their breakfast.

"I'd like to have certain solitude this time." Fuji said, smiling as he took a sip of his orange juice.

"I hope I won't disturb you then."

"Not at all, Atobe. You're an excellent companion."

Fuji felt like jumping off board when he heard those words coming out of his mouth. It seemed like his annoyance toward Tezuka ran deeper than he thought. He had thought he would rather give up Yuuta to the purple haired weirdo whose picture he's seen when he snooped around Yuuta's belongings, rather than flirting back with Atobe. Mentally Fuji berated himself and braced himself for a whole day of mindless courting.

They spent several hours under the sun fishing. How Fuji managed to survive Atobe's unstoppable chatter all that time, he didn't know. However, he did admit to inventing several interesting ways to silence the diva in his mind. Then, they had lunch on a tiny island in the middle of the vast ocean. The sky had darkened but Atobe said it might just be raining for a while. After lunch, they circled the island before settling on a remote part for a quick nap in which Fuji had cautiously locked the door to his cabin. However, when they woke up they quickly realized that what they had previously thought to be rain cloud actually carried storm. Big waves crashed into their boat and the high wind swayed them dangerously as thick droplets of water poured down onto them.

"We must return to the island!" Fuji shouted through the roaring sounds of the winds and the waves.

Atobe agreed and they brought the boat to the harbor only to find they couldn't moor the boat due to the rising tides. In a moment of panic, Fuji remembered a place where they could probably moor. He directed the captain, Kabaji, to a tiny shoreline which was his private place whenever he searched for solitude. The waves weren't as high there so they could moor the boat and return to land safely. But they were drenched and completely exhausted at that time, unable to walk the miles it took to return to the cottages.

"Kabaji, go find some help!" Atobe ordered his butler. "I'll take care of Fuji."

"Usu." Without a single complaint, Kabaji walked through the storm to search for help for his master. Fuji had little time to sympathize though as Atobe quickly pulled him into a nearby cave.

"Open your clothes. You'll catch a cold." Atobe ordered as he removed his own ruined silk shirt.

Fuji nodded and struggled with his shirt. His hands were trembling hard from the cold. He left his shorts on, though, not wanting to be completely naked with Atobe around, no matter what the situation was. Certainly not when he didn't have his pepper spray around.

"Why don't you come here so we can keep each other warm?" Atobe suggested without a smirk, holding out a hand for Fuji.

Fuji shook his head. There was no way he wanted to be so close to Atobe when they were wearing nothing but wet shorts. He opened his mouth to refuse but shrieked instead when a loud boom sounded nearby. Fuji clung to Atobe's cold chest as he whimpered in fear, hiding his face.

"Are you scared of thunder?" Atobe asked, sounding both surprised and pleased at the same time.

Fuji tried to answer or move away but fear had paralyzed him. He let out a tiny whimper as a reply. His body jolted when another clap of thunder boomed a little further away from them. Fuji didn't fight when Atobe wrapped his arms around his trembling body. His mind wasn't coherent enough to form even a word of argumentation. In the midst of the overwhelming fear though, a name managed to slip into his mind. _Tezuka_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tezuka was completely oblivious to his fiancée's situation. He was having tea with Inui and Kaido in his warm and dry cottage, safe from the rainstorm raging outside. It wasn't to say he didn't think of Fuji at all. Tezuka was concerned for Fuji's well being actually. The brunette hadn't told him where he was going and the fact he still hadn't returned even with the dangerous weather made Tezuka worried. However, he quickly reminded himself Fuji was most probably with Atobe and enjoying a warm bed with the diva. It wasn't to say he completely shook off Fuji from his mind though.

"Fsshh… This storm is so annoying." Kaido hissed in annoyance.

"Don't worry. There is a 76 percent chance that it will ease up slightly in an hour so we can go back to our cottage."

Tezuka listened to Inui's calculation of the wind velocity, origin, and the damage it would cause, quietly. By each ticking second, he grew more and more agitated about Fuji's state of well being. He wanted to look for him, but was still annoyed with the slender brunette. Plus he'd rather not deal with Atobe in this gloomy weather. God knows what he could do in his current mood. If Fuji wanted to return, then he should return on his own. He was a big boy after all.

"Fujiko!"

Tezuka, Inui, and Kaido looked at the drenched redhead who just entered the cottage unannounced. Oishi followed closely behind, trying to calm Eiji. The redhead spent some time looking around the place, yelling Fuji's nickname, and completely ignoring the dumbfounded trio sitting in the living room. When he finally realized that Fuji wasn't there, he approached Tezuka, leaving a wet and muddy trail on the floor.

"Tezuka, where's Fuji?" He demanded.

"Eiji, please calm down." Oishi begged the redhead.

"He's with Atobe." Tezuka answered. His anger sparked again as he mentioned the name.

Eiji's eyes widened in fear. "He's not here? But… But…"

"We need help."

Everyone jumped when they saw a zombie standing by the door, illuminated by lightning. Eiji screamed in surprise and clung to Oishi, muttering about how Fuji should've stopped his experiments with voodoo. When their shock had died down they realized their guest was still very much alive and was unlikely to have just risen from the grave, though his attitude begged otherwise.

"Atobe-sama and Fuji-san are stranded on a shore." Kabaji said.

"What?" Eiji exclaimed, having gotten over his fear. "Oishi we have to…"

"Calm down, Eiji. We need to think clearly…"

"There's an 89 percent chance of catching hypothermia…"

"Fsshhh… the tide is rising quickly…"

"Calm down." At the deep commanding voice, everybody fell silent. Tezuka took a deep breath to calm his nerves. How long had it been since Kabaji went to look for help? How was Fuji doing now? "Where are they now?"

"On a shore west of the island."

Eiji gasped. "Must be Fuji's secret coast. It's about three miles from here."

Tezuka nodded. "How long have they been there?"

Kabaji glanced at the clock briefly. "A little over an hour."

"Over an hour!"

"Tezuka-san, we must get them soon. It's getting darker, the tide is rising, and not to mention there is a threat of hypothermia."

"We must get a car."

"There's no one at the centre."

"Call Taka-san! He'll get a car! Hurry Tezuka!"

"Eiji…."

"The tide…"

"Fssh…"

Tezuka clenched his jaw and obeyed. He fidgeted nervously as they waited for Taka-san to arrive with the car while listening to Eiji's panic attack and Inui's morbid predictions. When he finally arrived, they had to make a quick detour to the manor to get another car because everyone had insisted on coming. Tezuka glared at the dark clouds and pouring rain, cursing his pride and hoping they weren't too late.

* * *

Atobe had made the right decision by waiting for help in the cave. He could see how the storm raged harder outside, the rain poured harder, the wind blew faster, and more thunder boomed in the distance. By each strike of lightning that foretold the coming of the loud explosion, Fuji clung to Atobe tighter and tighter, whimpering all the while.

Aside from the hard rocky surface digging into his back and the fact his favorite leather pants were ruined for good, Atobe didn't have anything to complain about. Their proximity enabled them to share body warmth that could ward away hypothermia, at least for a while. In Atobe's case though, much of the heat traveled down south. Who could blame him though? Here he was, trapped in a dark cave in only his shorts with an equally underdressed sex kitten who had plagued many of his dreams.

It was hell trying to hold himself back for the past hour. So far Fuji was still unaware of the reaction he created on Atobe's body, still too preoccupied by his fear to notice the lustful glint in Atobe's eyes and the way his hands began to roam his skin excessively. A particularly loud clap of thunder sounded from somewhere nearby, making Fuji yelp and snuggle closer to Atobe. That was when he began to notice the bulge digging into his hip.

"Atobe…" He whispered, confused and scared, looking into glazed purple eyes.

Atobe didn't listen to him. Putting Fuji's unclear state of mind to his full advantage, he held the back of Fuji's head to pull him into a kiss. He didn't waste his chance to explore Fuji's warm cavern when the latter gasped slightly. He kissed Fuji passionately, not wanting to hold back any longer now that he could have a taste of him.

"No." Fuji gasped. He didn't want this. Atobe can't… He was Tezuka's fiancé.

"Yes." Atobe whispered back smugly. He clamped his hot mouth over a hard nipple. Licking and sucking the bud into tightness. He set to cease Fuji's struggle by stroking Fuji's arousal faster with his skilled hand.

A shadow moved at the mouth of the cave, making them freeze in surprise. Atobe lifted himself off Fuji slightly to have a better look as the brunette gasped softly.

Tezuka narrowed his eyes as he took in the spectacle before him. He missed the desperate look in Fuji's eyes as he was too focused on Atobe's smug smirk. He clenched his hands into fists as anger raged within him.

"Tezuka, have you found them?" Eiji's voice came from the distance.

Without taking his eyes off Atobe's, he answered the redhead's call. "They're here."

Atobe smirked and suddenly latched his lips onto Fuji's neck and squeezed Fuji's arousal. Fuji cried out and pushed Atobe away. This time Atobe easily complied. He smirked, knowing the message had been received loud and clear by Tezuka.

"Fujiko!"

As Eiji approached the cave, Tezuka stormed inside, pulled Fuji to his feet and dragged him away.

"I'll take him. You bring Atobe." Tezuka ordered the confused redhead who just showed up and immediately pulled Fuji to the waiting cars. Taka-san rushed to give Fuji dry blankets but Tezuka snatched them away and wrapped it around Fuji himself. "I'll take the car."

Just as everyone else present, Taka-san could only stare as Tezuka pushed Fuji into the car and then drove away. The trip was short and silent as Tezuka drove through the rain rather wildly. As soon as they arrived at their cottage, Fuji quietly entered the building. Tezuka was close behind him. He slammed the car door shut loudly, locked the front door, and then quickly went after Fuji who just went to their shared bedroom to escape Tezuka's wrath. He caught Fuji's arm just as the brunette about to close the door.

"What was that?" Tezuka asked quietly, menacingly. The fire raging in his brown orbs showed that he was anything but cool and composed at the moment.

Fuji shook his head and jerked when another thunder boomed in the distance. "N-nothing. Please, Tezuka…"

"It didn't seem like nothing to me." Tezuka growled, stepping closer to Fuji.

"I…"

"You were making out with Atobe." Tezuka spat the name angrily and tightened his hold on Fuji's arm, causing him to cry out. Anger overtook Tezuka completely as the cry reminded him of Fuji's cry earlier when Atobe fondled him. "You will not do that again!"

Then he threw Fuji to the bed and slammed the door shut behind him. Fuji was sprawled on the bed, still shocked by the rough treatment, when Tezuka covered his cold body with his heated one and kissed him fiercely. There was not a single trace of gentleness in the kiss; it was only a matter of retaking one's claim. Tezuka's hands weren't idle at all, possessively roaming Fuji's skin as if to wipe away every single trace of Atobe on him.

Once he regained some of his control, he pulled out of Fuji and pulled him away from the mess they created. Fuji laid on his side and Tezuka spooned him once again, draping his arm possessively over his fiancé. Not a second later, they were claimed by restful sleep, the storm outside forgotten.

* * *

Tezuka woke up feeling warm, comfortable, and unbearably hard. He had had the nicest dream last night. He had dreamt of making love to a pliant body. He remembered how he ordered the slender brunette to 'dance'. The sight and sounds the lovely brunette produced aroused him to no end. Tezuka remembered the clenching heat around his hardness when he came screaming a name nearly lost in passion.

_Kunimitsu_

Oh, shit.

Tezuka opened his eyes abruptly and realized it wasn't a dream because here, in his arms, against his bare body, was a very naked Fuji Shuusuke. He immediately became aware of how their bodies touched and especially how his morning erection was cradled between Fuji's butt cheeks. Tezuka swallowed thickly. This couldn't be good.

He knew he should've pulled away but Fuji's warm and soft body lured him close. The memory of the tight channel closing around him came unbidden. His arousal throbbed at the reminder.

Almost unconsciously, he started to rock his hips slightly, rubbing his straining arousal on the cleft of Fuji's ass. His breath soon grew ragged as his hips rocked faster. How he wanted to be buried in the heat of Fuji's body once again!

"Do it."

* * *

They spent several minutes in each other's arms, panting. Tezuka kissed Fuji's shoulder and neck as he basked in the afterglow. He heard Fuji sigh softly as he did so, but couldn't bring himself to move away.

"Kunimitsu… Tezuka."

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk."

**TBC**

Comment?


	8. The House of Love

A/N: I have a long list of reasons why this wasn't done faster. Here's what happened though not necessarily in this order: fulfilling fic requests, exams, vacation (minus internet connection), start of new semester, family tragedy (no mood for fluff), assignments, attempt to write chapter, realizing loss of rough version of this chapter, more pre-midterm exam assignments. I got and then lost a beta in the process so I email and waited for her to appear for about a month before giving up -.-;; Anyway, I have a feeling that there's more to this chapter. I think it's supposed to be longer especially on the conversation scene but I can't remember anything T.T I'll try to finish the next chapter before I have to go on field trip (for two months!! That'll kill my muse for sure!) but I can't promise you a thing because I lost the beginning of the next chapter, too, and I was sure I wrote interesting dialogue there *weeps*… Thank you to my beta and enjoy the chapter…

Disclaimer: the reason why Tezuka and Fuji didn't make out in the series is because I am not the original author. Oh, and KKM isn't mine either or else I would have Conrad speaks all the time *runs to worship MoriMori*

**The House of Love**

Breakfast was tense to say the least. Tezuka and Fuji wouldn't risk even a single glance in the presence of Taka-san. They knew that the young butler was secretly watching them while performing his duty around the cottage. The leaves of the potted plant would turn white if he kept dusting them like that.

Finally realizing his error and determined to slow global warming, Taka-san left them briefly to water some of the plants in the cottage, leaving Tezuka and Fuji alone. Tension gripped them tighter now and they still dared not even glance at each other's direction. Fuji smiled at his pancake, hoping it would speak in his place. But even the mind of a genius couldn't force a piece of food to talk so he lifted his eyes slightly, fearing what he would see in Tezuka's face. Well, not that the tall young man had that much expression; he'd probably still look blank in the face of an enraged tensai, which wasn't his case actually. Fuji sighed, tired of the unsaid already. Damn Tezuka and his limited vocabulary.

"Tezuka…"

"Fuji…"

"Fujiko!!"

Eiji burst through the door, jumping Fuji before the brunette had the chance to dodge. Behind him, Oishi looked uncomfortable, glancing at both Tezuka and Fuji apologetically and tried to pry the redhead from Fuji. Finally, with much coaxing he unglued his lover from the brunette and pulled him out of the range of Tezuka's icy murderous look.

"I was so worried! Are you all right? I wanted to come immediately but Syuuichiro told me to let you rest. Did you get a fever? Or flu? Or…" Eiji babbled on, mentioning every disease known to man.

"Maa, I'm all right, Eiji. Thank you for worrying about me." Fuji said, putting a stop to his friend's panic tirade.

"Are you sure? You were out there for so long! And I know how much you're afraid of thunder storms."

Fuji glanced at Tezuka who looked at him with a hint of surprise (he was capable of human expression after all!). They really needed to talk soon. This misunderstanding had gone a little beyond control and Fuji's backside was protesting now. "I'm fine, Eiji." He said with a smile.

Eiji opened his mouth again, perhaps to voice more of his concern, but the knocking on the door stopped him. Taka-san rushed to open the door for the visitor. Eiji rolled his eyes when he saw a blur of purple, red, and silver. Fuji forced himself to keep smiling despite wanting to throw his knife to the diva's head. It was an ill mannered thing to do. Poison would be better.

"Be awed by my presence!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know the drill." Fuji heard Eiji muttered under his breath. Oishi nudged his side a little and gave a small lecture on the side while the diva approached his victim.

"Good morning, Atobe." Fuji greeted as politely as possible.

"Good morning, Fuji, Tezuka." Atobe mentioned the second name with a malicious glare to Tezuka who replied with a cold look that could help slow the melting of polar ice.

"Good morning."

The temperature dropped for several seconds as the rivals stared each other down. Fuji watched with some interest but was more concerned about his well being to show support to either of them. He waited until Atobe turned his attention back to him and ended what could be the beginning of World War III.

"How are you doing? I was very concerned about you last night."

At the mention of last night, Fuji tensed slightly. Tezuka immediately shifted closer to Fuji, glaring daggers at Atobe but Fuji managed to maintain his composure and kept smiling. "I'm well thank you. Kunimitsu has taken excellent care of me."

Atobe stiffened but didn't lose his arrogance. "I see." He said, glancing at Tezuka menacingly. Fuji had no doubt that he caught the underlying message in his words but apparently it wasn't enough to dampen his determination. "Well, you must let me make it up to you then." He said, clicking his fingers to order his butler to step forward and showed a bottle of wine. "I have brought nice drink. I insist that we all enjoy it."

The tone that Atobe used left no room for refusal. Fuji glanced at Tezuka who nodded his assent. Deliberately he invited Eiji and Oishi to join them and help stop possible bloodshed. Atobe didn't mind and acted civil (or as civil as he could be) throughout the day. Eventually he returned to his cottage, not wanting to disturb Fuji's rest. This cued Eiji and Oishi to follow his lead and they, too, leave for their love nest. Taka-san was the last to leave. The butler excused himself with a bow and a concerned yet curious gaze before closing the door firmly.

"I'm sorry." Tezuka said after several seconds of silence, turning to Fuji who was sitting beside him on the couch. When Fuji gave him a confused gaze, he continued quietly. "I didn't know about your problem. I shouldn't have done what I did last night." He bowed slightly as he said that, reflecting how he truly regretted his action.

It made Fuji uncomfortable. Not only because he disliked formality but the idea that Tezuka regretted what they did hurt him somehow. Still he forced on a smile, not wanting to let Tezuka know his thoughts before they clear everything up. "It's all right, Tezuka. You really didn't know."

"I should have asked." Tezuka insisted, still bowing in apology.

Fuji sighed at his fiancé's stubbornness. "It's all right, Tezuka. I don't mind." He said, making sure that Tezuka understood what he implied.

Hearing that, the bespectacled young man lifted his head. His eyes widened a little in surprise so Fuji smiled to calm him. He took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for the conversation that had been waiting to happen. Perhaps they should have done this long ago after that night of drunkenness but Atobe's arrival had distracted them from what needed to be done. Fuji must admit the diva was good at drawing attention to himself.

"We can't just ignore the fact that this didn't happen just once. We both know that it means something." He paused, searching for a reaction in Tezuka. The latter stiffened in nervousness and Fuji immediately realized what he had implied, the ground they yet wanted to thread. "I'm not saying that it's… _that_… But let's be honest, something's happened, something's changed."

Tezuka lowered his eyes for a while, needing time to absorb the truth Fuji presented. When Fuji called his name softly, he spoke up, lifting his eyes to meet Fuji's. "What do you propose we should do?"

"Well," Fuji started, licking his lips in nervousness. When was the last time he felt this nervous? Did he ever feel this nervous at all? "first of all, don't the idea of… this… repulse you at all?"

Tezuka looked at him questioningly, as if he couldn't believe that Fuji had to ask that question at all. "If it did, I would have firmly refused this engagement in the first place."

Fuji had the sudden urge to jump onto Tezuka's lap this moment but he cleared his throat instead. Jumping into Tezuka's lap must wait, besides his backside was still in sweet agony now. Damn, nerds and their unexpectedly great libido. "I think we should start all over again and do it right this time." No more getting drunk, no more getting caught in a darned thunderstorm with a horny heir, no more awkward mornings... When was he going to get some again then?

Tezuka nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea." He said. Then much to Fuji's surprise, he leaned close to Fuji to kiss his cheek. "Let's do it right this time." He whispered as he looked into Fuji's startled blue eyes with a tiny smile that sent the genius's heart racing.

Seriously, when was he allowed to get some again?

*

The vacation ended quickly and the families were preparing to once again return to Japan and leave the newlyweds in their honeymoon. Surprisingly it had been quite peaceful ever since the incident in the cave. Tezuka seemed to look less murderous and Atobe actually gave Fuji some private time although Fuji was sure that there was something else behind his apology gifts that Fuji would intentionally throw away or give away in front of Tezuka. It wasn't to say that Tezuka and Fuji had a lot of time spent together, though. They had constant stream of visitors, starting from their best friends to their concerned/nosy family. The only time they could be alone was at night when they were too tired to even say good night to each other. So perhaps returning to Japan was a good idea after all. Perhaps that way they would have more opportunity to actually spend quality time with each other without murdering anyone due to unresolved sexual tension.

Fuji was packing his clothes into his suitcase while plotting a romantic rendezvous when the telephone suddenly rang. He picked it up, wondering who the caller might be. They didn't have many phone calls during their stay in the island. Fuji didn't tell anyone about his whereabouts while Tezuka didn't seem to be social enough to expect many phone calls (except from some courageous fan girl/stalker if what Oishi said was true).

"Hello?"

"Hello, dear, have you begun packing? We're leaving tomorrow morning, remember? Where's Tezuka-kun?"

"I'm packing my clothes, Okaa-san. And Kunimitsu is out to visit Oishi."

"Oh, okay. I just want to let you know that your house is ready to be lived in!" Yoshiko announced happily.

"_My_ house?" Fuji asked, confused.

"Yes. You know, the house that your father bought for you and Tezuka-kun as engagement present? They're done with the decoration so you could move there as soon as we arrived to Japan!"

Smart mouth be damned, Fuji forced himself to smile as he answered. "Great!" Oh, Tezuka is so going to murder someone for this. Maybe he should suggest doing it during the cruise. It's easier to get rid of the body while they were in the middle of a vast ocean and get away with murder. Providing that no merman or mermaid would testify against them in court later, of course.

"Isn't it great? You could meet more often when you live in the same house! Oh, I could just hear the sounds of tiny footsteps running around there… But then again, that is not possible…" Yoshiko trailed off, sounding a little disappointed that she wouldn't have grandchildren with the combined genetic advantages from Tezuka and Fuji's gene pools. Her fantasy world of genius sex gods and cool nymphs practically shattered in the face of biological facts of male anatomy. It lasted only a second though and very soon she cheerily continued. "Oh, well, I'm sure Yumiko could take care of that part very well. Did you notice how good Shouri looks in a suit? Ayana and I think that he'd look _spectacular_ out of it…." Yoshiko stopped when someone shouted something in the background. "No, honey, that's _my_ pantyhose… Sorry, Shuusuke, I have to go help your father. Don't forget to tell Tezuka-kun about the house, ne?"

Fuji stared at the telephone after the call ended, wondering how to break the news to Tezuka. While they had, indeed, agreed to get to know each other better, this hadn't entered their minds. Fuji had thought of dinner dates and maybe even occasional vacations. But living together? He didn't think they're ready for it.

"Fuji?"

Fuji looked up when he heard the voice that had become very familiar to him. He smiled at Tezuka who was standing at the door, looking mostly expressionless though Fuji could see concern lingering in his eyes. He knew that Tezuka realized the slight strain in his smile and braced himself to begin the explanation.

"My mother just called. Our house is ready so we could move in as soon as we could."

Tezuka seemed confused at first but then seemed to recall the arrangement their parents have made. "I see." He paused, frowning thoughtfully. "Is there no way to delay that?" he asked quietly, as if worried that Fuji might lash out at him for questioning that.

"I think it's safe to assume that, knowing how excited our mothers are, we are going to be sent to the house as soon as we step foot onto Japan and be locked in the bedroom to somehow try to produce children."

Tezuka stared at him then sighed softly in resignation. "Great."

*

For the most part, Fuji was correct. They were immediately brought to their new house after they arrived in Japan early in the morning. Tezuka had half expected it to be a grand estate and was relieved that it was just a simple mansion (by their mothers' standard). Taka-san and two young butlers named Momoshiro and Echizen were assigned for them though Tezuka had a suspicion that they weren't there to merely care but also to spy on them. This suspicion was proven correct when they toured the new house.

"Mother." Tezuka growled menacingly toward the two women smiling innocently to him. "Video cameras?"

"It's for security purposes." Ayana beamed happily.

"In our _bedroom_?"

"Well, you'll never know." Yoshiko said with a shrug that could almost pass as indifference if not for the face-splitting smile on her face.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji who had a less than amused expression on his face. As soon as their mothers left after dinner, they searched the house for hidden recording devices. Two hours later they sat in the living room with a pile of various types of video cameras, motion sensor devices, voice recording devices from about all rooms in the large mansion. Security purposes? What security purposes? Who would, in their right side of mind, place cameras in the bathroom facing the shower and Jacuzzi for security purposes?

"I think that's about it." Fuji sighed in exhaustion, leaning heavily against the soft cushions of the sofa.

Tezuka hummed an answer, glancing warily at the silver chandelier above them. They had left several cameras in some part of the house, those that actually served its purpose as security devices. This one stayed for a different reason, though. God knows how their mothers were going to react when they found that the carefully arranged cameras were all gone. A little peek at their personal life should appease them though maybe it's only wise to sweep the house every two weeks or so.

"They are far too excited about this." Fuji peered from under lowered eyelids at the camera as well. He frowned slightly, displeased at the measures their mother took to ascertain the development of their relationship. Tezuka shared his sentiment very well. They've had it better now though still tentative in making the steps. Having nosy parents would only make things awkward and possibly even drive them apart once more. "Maybe we should talk to them."

"I doubt they would care." Tezuka replied warily. Knowing their mothers, they would possibly double their effort it spying on their children.

"You're probably right." Fuji said, yawning.

"Tired?"

Fuji nodded. "A little. Mother dragged me here before I had the chance to rest." He rubbed his eyes childishly, almost making Tezuka smile in the process.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Tezuka asked while resisting the urge to draw Fuji into his arms.

Fuji shook his head in refusal. "I'll watch TV for a while. There's a rerun of a series I wanna watch." He turned on the large plasma TV and changed the channels a couple of times until he found what he's looking for. He smiled in satisfaction then and settled comfortably on the sofa as he enjoyed the show.

Tezuka tried to watch it but soon lost interest in the obvious plot, cross-dressing female lead character, and the army of cool but foolish gorgeous young men. He began reading a newspaper, trying to catch up with whatever news he was missing. He was relieved when he found an article about Yumiko's wedding (next to a news about the arrival of world famous shape shifting illusionist, Niou Masaharu) minus his engagement to Fuji. If it was already disastrous with one Atobe Keigo knowing, it would have been apocalyptic to have the rest of the world finding out.

A light weight on his side roused him out of his counter-measure planning. He looked at the source of the distraction to find Fuji sleeping peacefully. Apparently it had been quite a day for the genius. Tezuka smiled slightly, marveling on Fuji's innocent sleeping face. When asleep, the brunette lost all his nymph-like allure and turned into a charming fallen angel. Tezuka wasn't sure which image he preferred more for both had its own irresistible attraction.

His eyes locked onto tempting plump lips and he immediately felt a craving for a kiss. When was the last time they kissed? It felt like centuries already. He wished for nothing more than to taste Fuji again. Feel him. Have him at his complete mercy…

But now wasn't the time. Tezuka glanced at the camera with a murderous scowl. Well, at any rate, he'd rather have Fuji fully conscious under him (or above him… Hmmm, they hadn't tried that one yet). With a sigh, he turned off the TV and proceeded to pick his fiancé up bridal style. Fuji murmured in his sleep and leaned his head on Tezuka's shoulder in a way that was undeniably cute. Tezuka stared, arguing mentally about his next course of action. After a lengthy mental argumentation that last a millisecond, hormone won ("Aha!" He could practically hear his mother exclaimed triumphantly as she ogled over the monitor) and after sending an annoyed glanced to the camera, he dipped his head to brush his lips against Fuji's cheek.

He wished for nothing more than to claim the tempting lips but pulled away instead. He wasn't feeling particularly exhibitionistic tonight. He stood up and brought Fuji to their shared bedroom. That little fan service should be enough to make their mothers leave them alone for a week at least. Either that or Inui would have a crime to cover up.

^___^

A/N: can you guess what TV show Fuji wanted to watch? The hint is that it involves one of Tezuka's actors *wink wink* Now I know I've been a lazy author but R&R, please?


	9. Separation Anxiety

A/N: sorry I made you wait so long but my humor muse escaped me. I hope this won't disappoint you. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: PoT belongs to Takeshi Konomi .

**Separation Anxiety**

Fuji never thought the day would come when he would feel desperate for a romantic intervention. But even geniuses made mistakes and here Fuji was, staring at his cell phone, trying to decide whether Inui's mathematical romantic strategy was a better choice than a well known playboy's suggestion after all. Slipping Viagra (who on earth had placed a bottle of that in the medical cabinet in the bathroom anyway?) into Tezuka's food had a highly dubious success rate though it would no doubt give him exactly what he wanted in an instant. Still, he'd rather both of them sober the next time they got around to do it. From what he had learned so far, their guilt trip needed a certain diva for a recovery and Fuji was sure that if Tezuka saw a glimpse of Atobe so soon after the liberating end of the cruise, the bespectacled young man would seriously snap and the cameras placed around the house would provide a major flaw in their alibis. So Fuji took a deep breath and dialed a set of number he never thought he would contact ever again.

"Hello?" A voice drawled out huskily when the call got through.

"Hello, Oshitari."

"Fuji?"

Fuji heard a distant indignant cry from the other side, followed by rustling of clothes, and a soft hiss. "Wait. Gakuto! …Dammit! Fuji, I'll call you back soon."

Fuji blinked when the phone call got disconnected. He shrugged while not really wanting to find out what had just happened, he had an idea about it anyway but would rather not pursue that particular line of thought.

Oshitari was one of Fuji's former 'boyfriend's. Their relationship was an odd one. He guessed they were both too smart and too eccentric for each other. Oshitari could only take so much of Fuji's spicy haute cuisine and Fuji vehemently refused Oshitari's idea of arty sex. They needed a certain semblance of normalcy that neither could provide. Fuji dumped him after he yet again attempted to tie him to his bed post, cans of paints sitting near the bed. Fuji hoped that the paint wasn't permanent; Oshitari's red, green, and yellow lower half was a rather unsightly thing to behold.

Half an hour later his cell phone rang. Oshitari's voice sounded lax and sated when he greeted Fuji. "I didn't think you'd ever contact me again."

"To be honest, I didn't think I would ever contact you again." Fuji confessed with a smile.

Oshitari chuckled. His rich voice reminded Fuji of why he was interested in the artist in the first place. Oshitari was definitely sexually appealing. Even Fuji, in his virgin days, was unable to reject his charms. But while he did remember why he had been interested in Oshitari, he no longer felt the slightest bit of attraction to him anymore. Fuji looked at the silver band around his left ring finger and felt elated.

"What's the occasion, then?"

"I'm engaged." Fuji announced boldly.

"Oh? I never thought you'd finally settle down, what's with your long resume of former lovers and all. Congratulation." Oshitari said indifferently. Clearly he had little interest in Fuji's private life now. Maybe it had to do with the aforementioned Gakuto or maybe because the sight of his colorful crotch had traumatized him for life.

"Thank you but that was exactly where I need your help."

"How so?"

"It's in your area of expertise. If you would recall, I was never very good at the game of seduction."

"Fuji, it's you. You just sit there and smile and everyone in the room gets aroused. Why would you need me?" Oshitari said, sounding amused.

"Well, this is a special case. You see, Kunimitsu seems to be immune to my… charms."

"Pardon me, but that doesn't sound like a very pretty girl's name to me." Oshitari said after a brief contemplative silence.

"Kunimitsu is a male, Oshitari." Fuji explained calmly.

There was another pause before Oshitari chuckled. "Now _that's_ interesting. Engaged to a male? Is he someone I know?" Oshitari asked, sounding more interested in Fuji's situation now. Unpleasant memory of botched attempt at sex aside, Oshitari was always interested in matters of deviations. Who knew that Fuji could be tied down to someone? It's practically against logic and the law of sex! Someone with the amount of sex appeal Fuji was responsible to introduce the world to the wonders of 'self help', sexual tension, and turning pubescent teenagers into adults. Oshitari felt slightly cheated.

"Perhaps you know Tezuka Kunimitsu?"

"Isn't that your sister's fiancé?"

"He was."

There was another silence before Oshitari laughed and demanded an explanation. Fuji patiently gave a brief summary of what had happened since his return to Japan. Oshitari was delighted to hear this unusual news, he was willing to meddle with Fuji's unique situation but had some question Fuji must answer first. His service never came for free. Besides, it wasn't everyday that one could get an inside scoop of Fuji Syusuke's private life.

"Have you slept with him?"

Fuji felt a flush crept to his cheeks and neck. He considered dodging the question but knew that Oshitari would persist. It was his favorite subject of conversation after all. "… yes…"

"After all the efforts from half the population of Europe to get into your pants, a geyser got lucky with you?"

"Well, we were drunk…"

"Drunk?" Oshitari guffawed. "I never thought… I should've tried that…"

"Oshitari." Fuji said in warning. But Oshitari was one of the few not affected by his silent threats. Perhaps it had something to do with his eccentricity which almost rivaled Fuji's. This proved that the two artists in a relationship had been a disaster in the making.

"How many times?"

"Oshitari…"

"I need to know to be able to help, Fuji."

Fuji couldn't tell if he was just teasing him or not but he decided to be truthful. He did need Oshitari's help though he couldn't really see how that information was going to help him any. "Three times." He answered bashfully.

"_Three_? Months of being engaged and you've only slept with him three times?" Oshitari laughed again. "Is he impotent?"

"Oshitari…"

"All right, all right. Now put that knife down and let's talk about this like adults…. Have you tried kidnapping him and locked him up in a sex dungeon I know your sister has somewhere in Japan?" Oshitari suggested. His voice revealed that he was grinning widely when he spoke. It was quite amazing the amount of information regarding people's perversion he could get. Fuji himself could live without knowing that he ancient looking cell phone his mother always had with her for so many years didn't serve as a communication device.

"I'm thinking of a more romantic approach."

"Fuji, you're engaged with him and currently living with him. Why would you need a romantic approach?"

Talking to Oshitari sometimes felt like talking to his inner pervert. Of course Fuji had thought of that. He had thought of that many times in fact. There were only few choices of thought you could entertain when Tezuka Kunimitsu was sleeping next to you, unaware and unprotected against your dirty plans. If thoughts alone counted, Tezuka had been molested nightly by Fuji.

"Kunimitsu is rather uptight. He wouldn't agree to just, well, do _it_. Our mothers' intervention wasn't helping us any, either." Fuji sighed softly in exasperation.

"What did your mothers do?"

"They installed cameras all over the house."

"Hmm, I'm sure I still have your mother's phone number somewhere. I hope she's willing to share. Those porn videos are getting boring. They should get women with _real_ big boobs, not fake ones…"

"Perhaps this can wait until your logic returns after all. There's something else I want to…"

"No, this can't wait. Pent-up sexual tension must be cured immediately and effectively to ensure the desired effect shall last over ten seconds. So anyway, if you want to get laid again, listen to me…"

Perhaps Fuji should feel offended but he had to agree with Oshitari. He did want to get laid again, soon if possible. Besides, he had grown a certain wariness toward their monstrous bathroom –the potted plant there didn't seem to only serve as decoration, or was the mirror, or… So Fuji took a deep breath and listened carefully to Oshitari's innuendo.

* * *

Tezuka was confused and sexually frustrated. But that last part everyone who's had the misfortune of recognizing the lack of literal stick up his ass had known about so there's no point in discussing it. The biggest point here was that Tezuka was confused, about his fiancé to be exact

He wasn't entirely surprised when Fuji announced that he was going to make a photography exhibition. He had heard about Fuji's artistic skills, had seen samples of it, and was excited to see more. Fuji's enthusiasm in exhibiting his work for the first time ever in Japan was something Tezuka could not reject. He gave his permission despite knowing that it meant less time together, something Tezuka had grown accustomed to over the weeks they lived together. So, yes, he did expect to see less of his fiancé however he didn't expect Fuji's new habit.

Fuji now made as much physical contact as possible in the morning before Tezuka left, almost completely disregarding the new cameras being installed in their home on a near daily basis. Brushing hands and brief caresses were no longer uncommon. The physical distance between them had also decreased significantly to the point where Tezuka could swear that Fuji was breathing down his neck every time they're together.

However all these changed when the evening came and Tezuka arrived to a quiet house. Fuji was almost always nowhere to be seen. He returned home very late at night when Tezuka was half asleep on their bed to immediately doze off. Tezuka had tried to ask in the morning many times but almost no human on earth managed to make the grand achievement of talking to a wet, topless Fuji Syuusuke and he was actually proud to be a part of that majority.

He tried to understand the unusual behavior. He google-d it, Wikipedia-d it but there was no explanation on the dual behavior of a Fuji Syuusuke. In the end, he turned to his last resort; romance novels and yaoi mangas. After searching up and down for any other case of the irregularity on a male lover for days on ends and only finding the fictional wonders of gay sex, he finally gave up, resigned himself to the sexual torture, and saved the files on carefully-stored DVDs.

Therefore he was relieved when the exhibition was finally coming though to be honest a part of him bemoaned the possibility of less physical contact. Still, he was happy to see Fuji's exhilaration and hoped that his hormones were listening when a sappy part of his brain told him that seeing Fuji's smile was enough.

The opening day of the exhibition was attended by many critics, Fuji's father's business partners, as well as art enthusiasts. While Fuji seemed to be indifferent toward what the critics' comments, Tezuka was anxious. He had heard that they could be harsh and while he had full confidence on his fiancé's talent, he couldn't help but worry about the chance that the exhibition was not as well accepted as they hoped.

All of his worry disappeared, however when he entered the gallery. Tezuka might not know much about art but he knew beauty when he saw one. The photos captured the sights associated to Japan; historical buildings, festivals, nature, and the harmonious clash between Japanese and Western culture. Fuji successfully showed little details people barely noticed due to the gradual change over time. Tezuka knew he wasn't the only one awed by the images, people began to murmur their admiration around him and felt proud of his fiancé.

Tezuka busied himself watching the photos as Fuji entertained the guests and answered the critics' questions. It was a picture of a the coast of Japan, most probably taken during the cruise. Brilliant blue dominate it, reminding Tezuka of Fuji's eyes. He sighed when he remembered that they hadn't had much time to sit down to talk. Sure it was nice to have all that physical contacts but something else could not be replaced by suggestive moves.

"What do you think?"

Tezuka turned to see Fuji smiling at him. He recognized a subtle change in the way Fuji brought himself. He seemed more at ease, happy. Perhaps Fuji wasn't as indifferent as Tezuka thought after all. He wanted acknowledgement for his art.

"It's beautiful." Tezuka replied honestly.

Fuji hummed, pleased by the answer. "This picture reminds me of you." He suddenly said absently.

"How so?" Tezuka asked, slightly surprised.

"It's the color blue, I think. Quiet, calming, captivating." Fuji stopped to look at Tezuka who was staring at him. "Very much like you to me."

Tezuka's heart felt like it's about to burst. There was heat seeping into his body, making his skin tingle. There was a surge of a strong, unnamed emotion, sweeping over him. Fuji had never seemed more beautiful than this moment.

"Syuusuke…"

Fuji opened his mouth to say something but a certain voice stopped him. "Be awed by my presence!"

Tezuka took a deep breath to calm himself lest he'd commit homicide. The critics didn't deserve that much entertainment. Fuji didn't look so pleased either but somehow managed to keep smiling. The brunette turned to the unwanted guest and greeted him pleasantly. "Atobe. What a great surprise."

"I can't possibly miss your exhibition, can I?" Atobe then spared a glance to his rival, losing his friendliness in an instant. "Tezuka."

Tezuka nodded his greeting. "Atobe."

Fuji smartly positioned himself between them to prevent bloodbath so Tezuka could only glare at Atobe from over Fuji's shoulder. It's really too bad that Tezuka's super eye beam could be deflected by Atobe's inflated ego.

"The photographs are wonderful. I have seen several of your works before but you have truly outdone yourself this time." Atobe complimented Fuji generously.

"Thank you very much." Fuji bowed his thanks.

A smirk begin to spread on Atobe's face. Tezuka knew the diva was up to something then but before he could say anything, Atobe had beaten him up to it. "That is why I'm offering to be the sponsor of our next exhibition."

Atobe's triumphant look gained blank surprised look from Tezuka and Fuji. They were quick to recover though, with Tezuka coming up with a hundred ways to torture Atobe and Fuji with a rejection. "That's too kind of you…"

"Your exceptional talent should not be confined only in Tokyo; perhaps this time a national exhibition should be in order. I think the critics would agree with me."

Tezuka narrowed his eyes. He wanted to reject the offer –Fuji's family and his were able to sponsor any exhibition if Fuji would only ask- but he could sense that Fuji was interested in the offer. Tezuka could understand, after all, Atobe's family's company already had experience in the business of art. Also, the prospect of gaining national acknowledgment was tempting indeed. Despite his reluctance to allow Fuji got near to Atobe, Tezuka couldn't bring himself to tell Fuji to refuse.

Atobe immediately sensed this and with a victorious smile ushered Fuji to join him in a business meeting. "Why don't we talk about this in private, Fuji? I can assure you it won't be a waste of time."

Fuji looked at Atobe then Tezuka. Tezuka could only give him a nod then watch him leave with Atobe. He hated to admit it, but Atobe had won this time.

* * *

Fuji arrived home late at night, tired and troubled and guilty for being pleased with the result of the conversation with Atobe. Of course he wanted national acclaim and he could have done so earlier with his parents help but wanted to make it on his own. He did hesitate to take Atobe's offer. He knew it was just an attempt to charm him so that he would leave Tezuka but it was a golden opportunity he couldn't possibly miss even after getting so close to the result of torturing himself for week with Oshitari's advice to raise the unresolved sexual tension between him and Tezuka.

"Tezuka." Fuji greeted his fiancé who was waiting for his arrival in the living room. Tezuka merely nodded, showing that he was less than pleased by the development. He sat down heavily next to Tezuka on the couch, sighing in exhaustion. "Atobe is a very persistent person, isn't he?"

"He is." Tezuka replied quietly.

Fuji smiled warily. "He offered me a national photography exhibition in the near future but before that he asked me to join a certain project with other photographers."

"What project?"

Fuji turned to Tezuka in slight trepidation, unsure how Tezuka would take this news. "It was a project to capture the effect of climate change to raise awareness toward global warming." He paused, trying to read Tezuka's reaction but couldn't see anything past wary expectation. "I'm going to the Amazon."

Tezuka stared at him for a while longer then let out a long sigh. Fuji could definitely see why he would be upset but it was something he had always wanted and not to mention that tropical forests always fascinated him. He did want to spend time with Tezuka to work on their relationship and sexual tension but who knew when he would have such an opportunity again? Fuji could only do his best to avoid more conflict between Tezuka and Atobe by refusing the diva's attempt to accompany him in his expedition. He was immensely grateful that Atobe had thick schedule to attend to that didn't allow him to go with Fuji. Who knew what would happen if they were left alone in the middle of nowhere again? He could only hope that Tezuka would understand his selfishness.

"When are you leaving?" Tezuka finally asked.

"Around a week from now." Fuji replied with an apologetic smile.

"For how long?"

Fuji shrugged, feeling more and more guilty by the moment. "I'm not sure… but it could be as long as a month."

Tezuka sighed again. Fuji could only wait for his response quietly. He was sure that Tezuka would not throw a tantrum but an enraged Tezuka wasn't easy to deal with no matter how good the sex that might follow. He watched rather fearfully when Tezuka turned to him, not sure what to expect.

Fuji didn't expect, however, for Tezuka to lean forward and kiss his forehead. He looked up at his fiancé in wonderment as Tezuka stared back at him calmly. "This is what you want, isn't it?" He waited as Fuji continued to stare for a moment before nodding his answer. "Then so be it."

Fuji swallowed and lightly leaned his head on Tezuka's shoulder, relieved yet disappointed at the same time. He thought he knew what the theme of his next exhibition would be: the Merry Murder of Atobe Keigo.

^____^

A/N: Ugh, I have so much to say… The comment about impotency had been in my head since last year. I wanted it to be in the sequel of Demonic Love but I don't have enough sense of humor to make something like that again *is an emo* -__- Also, the last part was mostly inspired by… uh… real events *blushes*… yeah… Uh… Well, there are two more chapters to go. I hope to finish AES this year! Thank you for reading and please leave a comment ^^


	10. A Match for Love

A/N: Woots! I finally managed to finish this story. After so many years, here are the final two chapters! Sorry if this one's too short and too unfunny. Thesis does that to my sense of humor. Anyway to make up for the lack of funny, I present you with some smex which as usual can be found at my LJ page. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: PoT isn't mine. I make no profit from writing this.

**A Match for Love**

"Do you want me to ship him to Brazil?"

"No."

"Kidnap you and take you back to Japan?

"No."

"Send him to Brazil in a sexy, pink, leather bunny outfit?"

Fuji paused thoughtfully then regretfully decided to refuse. "No, thanks."

"Okay, Gakuto, you can wear the outfit!" Oshitari shouted to someone. He then murmured something Fuji didn't want to hear then sighed heavily. "So when do you plan to carry out the end of your seduction?"

"I don't know. I won't be back in weeks." Fuji sighed. The thought of spending lonely nights in a faraway country isn't so appealing to him. Last night was his first night in Brazil. He didn't realize until then just how much he was used to having someone sleeping next to him. He felt very lonely last night but didn't dare to call Tezuka in fear of disturbing him. While Fuji looked forward to exploring the jungle and the river, he wasn't so excited about being away from Tezuka.

"The good news is abstinence could increase desire. The bad news is if you wait too long, the intimacy could sizzle out and the stamina could be reduced. Here's hoping for a hot, steamy, non-premature reunion sex for you!"

Fuji sighed. "Unfortunately that will have to wait."

"You know, there are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself entertained when you're alone." Oshitari eagerly informed Fuji. "Have you ever tried using ic…"

"That will be unnecessary."

"I promise it won't hurt. I've tried it on myself before."

"No."

"Cu…"

"No."

"Su…"

"No."

"Hotdog?"

"Oshitari." Fuji called his friend to attention. He had known most of Oshitari's perversion but he always seemed to have something new to surprise Fuji every time they talk. "I can wait."

"What do you mean? It is necessary to practice your skill at any given opportunity. Have I told you about that _magical_ time when I…"

Fuji listened to his friend quietly. He knew he wouldn't be able to look at the content of his refrigerator the same way anymore by the end of this phone call. It was a pretty good distraction though. He hadn't been able to keep Tezuka out of his mind. He had made the choice to do the project but now he wanted to spend his time with his fiancé. He must wait. A month could be a short time if he enjoyed himself. Fuji stared into the blue sky outside his hotel room and thought of Tezuka. Naked. Covered with wasabi sushi. Damn that Oshitari.

* * *

Tezuka missed Fuji a lot. He hadn't wanted to admit it at first but when he grew more and more absentminded by days, he decided to admit it to himself.

It's kind of silly, actually. It's not like they're not contacting each other at all. They occasionally chatted via internet. Fuji would tell him how his work was doing and hint how soon he'd be able to return to Japan after pending his return several times. A week isn't a very long time after all. Right? Yeah, right.

So did this mean he really was in love with Fuji? Lust was easier to distinguish of course and since he has been engaged since he was ten years-old, Tezuka was very well informed on the subject of lust, much to his horror. Of course being passionate about another man was an entirely new dimension but those yaoi mangas did tremendous help. Besides, this wasn't just another man. This was Fuji Syuusuke he was in love with.

Okay, so force of logic said that Fuji was indeed another man, unless Tezuka had been seeing things the three times he had sex with Fuji and that flat chest was indeed curvy, those lips… those thighs… those legs... that a… Tezuka cleared his throat as crossed his legs as inconspicuously as possible but unfortunately not inconspicuously enough.

"Tezuka, are you okay? You're all red and fidgety, nya!"

The only think he could think about currently was how to silence Eiji without resorting to some kind of violence. Fuji's suggestion to ask Oishi to occupy the redhead's mouth (Tezuka crossed his legs some more) was out of question. Oishi was driving and he'd rather arrive to wherever they're heading alive.

"I'm all right." Tezuka said as coolly as possible.

Oishi didn't seem convinced but he wisely decided that the best course of action would be to distract Eiji from Tezuka's terrible mood by talking about animals. Tezuka sighed and looked at the scenery outside the car. He had been 'saved from moping and pining to death', to quote Eiji, by the duo. In other word he had been bodily dragged by sugar-high Eiji to a waiting car which will drive him to some place that could lift his spirit. Tezuka doubted that there's still a supposedly-fun place in this world which he hadn't associated with his mother's traumatizing attempts to make Yumiko turn him into a man. Tezuka still had strange urge to run away whenever he saw Ferris wheels to this day. At least Yumiko had been kind enough to wait until he got to high school before relenting to their mothers' persistence to help his transition into a man. And taped every moment of it.

"We're here!"

Tezuka looked at the building in front of him and immediately recognize it. It was a gym with tennis courts he often went to. Thankfully he didn't have much trauma related to this place. As long as he didn't go behind the back building, he would be all right. Tezuka shuddered at that particular memory.

Oishi and Eiji were right though. If there was anything that could take his mind of counting the microsecond to Fuji's return, it would be tennis. When was the last time he played tennis? Oh, it was with Fuji in the cruise ship when it rained before they could draw any conclusion to the match and Fuji looked at him sharply as water poured from the sky… making his thin shirt clung to his lithe body… Oh, damn, he should've worn looser pants.

"Tezuka, how nice to see you here."

Tezuka stopped just as he was about to step into the court. He turned to the speaker stiffly, fighting not to swing his racquet to Atobe's head.

"Atobe."

The air sparkled with electricity strong enough to light up the entire Japan. Oishi and Eiji cowered behind a potted plant, watching the love rivals from a safe distance.

"I heard Fuji is having a great time in the Amazon."

Tezuka knew better than to fall for it or provoke back so he turned away to leave but not without surrendering to jealousy. "So I heard." He said quietly, noting in quiet satisfaction how Atobe's smirked dropped just a millimeter after hearing that. Take that, Monkey King.

The satisfaction didn't last very long. Atobe quickly regained his composure. By now Oishi had begun the evacuation of everyone in the gym. Not that the screams of terror ever reached the heirs. "Well, since you're here, why don't you have a match with me?" Atobe asked with a confident smirk. Better hurry up with that evacuation, Oishi.

"I'd rather not." Tezuka refused and turned to leave, not out of fear of losing. He'd just rather not interact with Atobe in any way. It was clear to him that Atobe enjoyed the fact that Fuji was far away from him and had taken advantage of it. Fuji told him that there was barely a day when Atobe didn't contact him and thus reducing Fuji's work time.

"If I say that the winner may have Fuji, will you be interested?"

Tezuka glared at Atobe. "I refuse to use him as a trophy for a game."

Atobe nodded, seemingly a little upset by his choice of words. "Then let me rephrase that. The winner will have the right to spend as much time as he wanted with Fuji." The glint in his eyes told Tezuka that Atobe was indeed capable of that. If Atobe had managed to influence Fuji to go to Brazil, sending him away from Tezuka and closer to him was not an impossible task. "I'll stay away from him if I lose." Atobe declared. "And I expect you to do the same if you lose."

It was too tempting to pass. Tezuka thought he should refuse anyway. He respected Fuji enough not to think that he was some kind of trophy but he also knew that Atobe would keep his word. If he had said that he would stay away from Fuji then he would.

"All right."

Tezuka never underestimated his opponents, including Atobe. If anything Atobe was the last person he should underestimate. Knowing his upbringing, he might excel in tennis. Tezuka didn't want to let his guard down and let the chance of having Fuji all to himself slip away.

Still he didn't expect Atobe to be quite this good. Tezuka watched in mild surprise as his racquet clattered on the ground a few feet away after trying to return the ball.

"15-love!" Oishi, the kind soul who is willing to risk his life for the safety of human race within ten miles radius from the spot by being a referee, announced.

"Is that all you've got?" Atobe mocked from across the court.

Tezuka picked up his racquet and closed his eyes briefly. The image of Fuji flashed behind his eyelids, reminding him of his purpose. He definitely must not lose this game!

And thus begun the most difficult tennis match of Tezuka's life. He didn't hesitate to use his special techniques and neither did Atobe. He was precise, directing the ball to difficult corners in attempt to exhaust Tezuka. It was then that the bespectacled man was grateful for all the morning he spent working out the sexual tension Fuji induced on him. He barely ran out of breath as he returned the ball, stealing scores from Atobe only to have it stolen back. It was always a close call, though. Neither man was willing to give up when the stake was this high.

Tezuka heard a distant rumble of thunder but ignored it. It reminded him of that night he found Atobe molesting Fuji in the cave. He narrowed his eyes and hit the yellow ball as hard as he could and watched as it dropped just after passing the net before skidding back to his side of the court. Atobe had lost his smug smile, now looking serious as he realized Tezuka wasn't an opponent to be trifled with.

The match dragged on and on. Tezuka was only partially aware of the suddenly darkening court. When the first raindrop fell, he was too far gone to realize and so was Atobe. Oishi wanted to stop them but knew that his voice wasn't heard by the tennis players. He and Eiji watched as Tezuka and Atobe ran around in the wet court, slipping on puddles of water every now and then but regaining balance very soon. They had entered tie break with no end in sight. It would take something as drastic as Fuji's sex tape scandal to make them stop for a break.

"Kunimitsu, what do you think you're doing?"

Well, it's not a sex tape but it would work. Oishi looked at his grinning boyfriend and gave a grateful smile. Tezuka halted his run and looked at the young woman glaring at him. He blinked in surprise when the tennis ball hit the court right beside him and instantly regretted the distraction. He looked accusingly at Yumiko but the pregnant woman would have none of it.

"Kunimitsu, Atobe-kun, I demand you to stop now!" Yumiko said with the kind of authority only mothers could omit. "Get back in here! I am not going to get myself and my baby wet just to fetch you ignorant adolences!"

Tezuka walked back to the building obediently, absently noting that Atobe was following suit behind him. Once inside, Oishi handed him a towel to dry himself. Atobe's zombie servant also suddenly appear to dry his master wordlessly.

"It's raining cat and dog and I am called out here just to stop you two from killing yourself with flu! Do you know how difficult it is already for me? I have a baby growing inside me, my back hurts, my feet uncooperative, and I should still come here to stop your stupid match! Now I…"

Tezuka barely heard Yumiko's rant. His mind still reeled from the event that just took place. Atobe was slightly distracted as was Tezuka, but there was no mistaking the result of the match. Tezuka said nothing as Oishi led him back to his car. He stared blankly at the gloomy sky and heavy rain pounding on the car windows as he was driven back home. He had lost the match.

* * *

"Now who was it that insist on saying 'don't let your guard down' every half an hour?"

"Really, Kunimitsu, you should know better than to play during such a heavy rain. Now open wide, you must finish your chili soup."

Tezuka sighed. Hadn't he had enough punishment already? First he lost to Atobe and now this? Why on earth did Oishi call his mother here to take care of him? And why did his mother bring along Fuji's mother here?

"I can take care of myself." Tezuka croaked out unconvincingly.

Tezuka Ayana rolled her eyes. "So you said yesterday night before you almost pass out from your fever."

"I didn't pass out. I slipped on the carpet." Tezuka argued. But then Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't slip on anything. Not even when Fuji was reenacting shampoo commercial in front of him.

"Now, now. It's not time to argue, is it?" Fuji Yoshiko said while presenting him with a spoonful of red, bubbly… thing. Tezuka closed his eyes, stopped breathing, and swallowed the hideous thing. It was a good thing that the Fujis have a chef.

"I'm all right." Tezuka said again after the spiciness that burnt his mouth had died down.

Ayana sighed heavily. "If only Syuusuke is here… he could help you get rid of our fever instantly."

Yoshiko nodded solemnly. "Vigorous activity would help lower your temperature. Or is that why you want us to leave you alone now?"

He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with his mother and his fiancé's mother. "No."

Tezuka had gotten a fever since the previous night and the women had taken it upon themselves to help make him feel better in Fuji's absence. It didn't make Tezuka feel better at all. When they were around he would be subjected to scolding and teasing and physical as well as psychological torture. When they're not with him he would be haunted by the thought of having to stay away from Fuji because he had stupidly lost tennis match to a Monkey King. Could he have some mercy?

He had thought of running away at night. But this was already dark and his mother had insisted sleeping in the same room to make sure he'd be all right. This reminded him why he always took good care of his health. Yudan sezu ni ikou. Don't let yourself get sick and thus give your mother a chance to humiliate you.

"Maybe you're not strong enough to finish your food yet. It's time to take some drugs."

Tezuka's eyes widened slightly. He almost begged for Yoshiko to feed him the dreadful soup again. These 'drugs' were prescribed by Fuji's friend/spy Inui and looked more like poison. The fancy colors of the liquid and pills did nothing to convince Tezuka of their effectiveness to cure his illness. The foul scent and terrible taste, however, was quite effective to knock him out for an entire night.

Still, he'd rather sleep on his own without the help of the dubious potions. Tezuka edged away from the two witches… err… women. But he couldn't get very far. Ayana pulled him back, smiled threateningly, and bring a spoonful of bubbly, multicolored liquid close to his mouth.

"Say 'ah'…"

Could he at least have his last word?

"I think I should ask you to leave my fiancé to my care."

Tezuka blinked, hoping that the fever hadn't made him see and hear things. Was that really Fuji standing in this room?

"Syuusuke! Okaeri!"

"Didn't you say you're going to be home next week?"

Fuji smiled sweetly, his blue eyes locking with Tezuka's brown ones. "I decided to go home early. Now if you don't mind, could you leave me alone with Kunimitsu?"

Ayana and Yoshiko obeyed easily. They closed the door firmly behind them after giving Fuji welcoming hugs and kisses. After they were left alone, the couple kept staring at each other, lost in wordless conversation. Finally Fuji sat on the bedside, next to Tezuka, caressing the taller man's flushed skin.

"Got yourself a fever, didn't you?" he said quietly.

"Yes. I…" Tezuka swallowed to guilt and braced himself to confess. "I had a tennis match with Atobe in the rain." At Fuji's questioning look, he continued. "He said he'd stay away from you if I won…. I lost."

Fuji looked surprised and a little upset but it didn't last long. Tezuka was a little relieved. As much as he thought he deserved punishment, he was currently in no condition to pay back for his stupidity. "Tell me about it later. For now… let's focus on making you feel better, shall we?"

Tezuka was slightly startled when he felt Fuji's lips on his own but it didn't last very long. His eyes closed on their own accord and his arms reached forward to wrap around Fuji's slender body. The kiss was slow and tender, meant to convey affection instead of lust. Tezuka pulled Fuji close to him, enjoying the feel of having that body this close. Tezuka broke the kiss to nuzzle Fuji's neck in contentment.

"I've got the flu, you know."

He could hear a smile in Fuji's answer. "Should I care?"

Tezuka smiled slightly, inhaling the sweet scent of his fiancé. "I thought you'll arrive next week." He murmured.

Fuji chuckled and wrapped his arms around Tezuka. "I can't wait to see you so I asked a friend to take me back home." He paused, caressing Tezuka's damp hair. "Did you miss me?"

Tezuka pulled away to look at Fuji. He saw insecurity there, as if Fuji was worried that he might get a negative answer. Tezuka smiled to reassure him. There were many things he wanted Fuji to know but he'd rather show them through action instead of words.

Fuji's lips curved into a smile when Tezuka pressed their lips together. He missed this. He missed kissing Fuji, touching Fuji, having Fuji near. Tezuka promised to himself he wouldn't ever let Fuji leave him for that long again.

Fuji moaned softly when the kiss grew heated, their tongues battling for dominance. He shifted so that he was now straddling Tezuka, providing the bespectacled man more access to his body. He broke the kiss to gasp when Tezuka kneaded his buttocks.

"Aren't you supposed to be sick?" He asked with a mischievous smile. Yet there was no way to mistake the lust darkening his eyes.

"Your mother did say that vigorous activity will lower my temperature." Tezuka answered. He nibbled Fuji's collarbone and slip a hand inside Fuji's blue shirt.

Fuji laughed. "You can always count on my mother for random wisdom."

* * *

Fuji moaned softly as they slowly rode the afterglow. Tezuka sighed in contentment, whatever unpleasant sensation that had plagued his mind and body gone. When the haze of pleasure finally cleared they looked at each other and smiled. Tezuka pushed back a strand of hair from Fuji's sweaty face, smiling affectionately at his lover. They leaned close for another kiss but a cry from outside the door stop them. They blinked at a small puddle of blood under the door.

"Yoshiko! Are you all right? Someone stop her nosebleed!"

Tezuka closed his eyes in mortification while Fuji laughed breathlessly. That was one way to impress your future mother-in-law.

"Kunimitsu."

"Hmm?" Tezuka asked, looking at his lover. When he saw the look in Fuji's eyes he nodded. "Right."

TBC

A/N: Mwahahahah…. But it's not done yet. Check the epilogue for closure. Still, R&R is very appreciated.


	11. Epilogue

A/N: As a final A/N for AES, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed. You don't know how much your reviews cheered me up in bad days. I owe you a lot. Also for that kind flamer who told me that this story is the most ridiculous thing in the internet. Thank you, since I do mean this story to be humorous (hence it falls in the humor genre). Also thanks a lot for anyone who has faved and/or watched this fic. I hope this epilogue satisfy you!

Disclaimer: PoT is still not mine.

**Epilogue**

"Good morning, handsome."

Fuji stifled a laugh as Tezuka blinked away sleepiness. He always looked more open in the morning when he wasn't fully alert and without his glasses on. Fuji had resorted to hiding his glasses every now and then just to see that look again. Not today, though. Today he had a feeling that it wouldn't be necessary. His smile widened when Tezuka wrapped his arms around him and lazily kissed his cheek.

"Maa… you are getting lazy, Kunimitsu."

Tezuka grunted. "Someone kept me up all night last night."

"Someone was overzealous last night." Fuji replied. He rested his head on Tezuka's chest, listening to his heartbeat. The calming sound combined with the warm sunlight and sounds of waves crashing on the shore coming from the open windows lulled him. He could fully understand why Tezuka would feel lazy even without the nightly activity. It's a good change, though. It's nice to see Tezuka finally relaxing, losing the tension that used to be constantly present.

They remained like that for a while, lazing around on the bed. Fuji felt Tezuka's idly stroking his bare back and felt more content that he'd ever been. Why hadn't they done this sooner?

"Do you have any plan today?" Tezuka asked.

"Mmm, no. I've sent the photos yesterday. We can relax today."

"Are you sure you want to just relax?"

Fuji lifted himself up and smiled at Tezuka playfully. "Why? What do you have in mind?"

"A stroll at the beach maybe." Tezuka answered. If not for the fact that Fuji knew him well, he would've thought Tezuka was being genuine. "Anywhere is fine now that our mothers aren't tailing us."

Playfully, Fuji punched Tezuka's shoulder. "Oh, that's just cruel. Don't you miss your mother?" He didn't fight, though, when Tezuka draw him for a mind-blowing kiss. Fuji pressed their naked bodies closer, loving the sensation of bare skin against bare skin.

They wouldn't have dared to do this before but things had changed now. After that fateful night when Fuji returned from Brazil, they decided to move away as far as possible from their family. Fuji had managed to blackmail their fathers into giving them enough money to support them for a while. After giving a suitable punishment to Tezuka for his decision to bet on Fuji's well-being with the help of ever-so-helpful Oshitari and Kawamura's ever-so-delicious sushi, they immediately left Japan. Fuji was still working as a photographer now, travelling around the world to take pictures he would send to Oshitari who now become some kind of middleman between him and his sponsors. Meanwhile, Tezuka helped managing his family business via internet. They had nothing to worry about in terms of business partnership now since Yumiko had issued a contract detailing the terms between their companies which didn't involve trying to get either Tezuka or Fuji pregnant.

A loud ringing voice distracted Fuji from his thought. He wanted to ignore it but Tezuka was pushing him away slightly despite the fact that he obviously enjoyed their kiss very much. "Your phone." He said, lightly caressing Fuji's swollen bottom lip with his thumb.

Fuji pouted but obeyed, deliberately dragging his body over his fiancé's groin as he reached out for his cell phone on the bedside table. He smiled as he picked up the phone when Tezuka tightened his grip on his hips. "Hello?"

"Hello, Fuji. There's a 99% chance that I am interrupting your morning session with Tezuka. I apologize."

Fuji chuckled, lolling his head to one side when Tezuka lightly kissed his neck. "It's all right, Inui. We're used to having audience and being interrupted. Why did you call?"

Inui cleared his throat uncomfortably on the other side. There was a soft hissing sound in the background, making Fuji wondered if Inui also interrupted his own session when he called. "I think you'd want know that Atobe has found your location."

Fuji raised an eyebrow. "Really? How?"

"He rented a P.I. named Yanagi. There is an 89% chance that he's going to your place now. You have approximately seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and forty-seven seconds to go. Good day, Fuji. Give my regards to Tezuka."

Fuji put his cell phone back to the bedside table then turned back to kiss Tezuka. Lust sizzled up when Tezuka ran his hands up his sides. Fuji bit his lips as he tried not to rock his hips. "Atobe found us." He gasped out as Tezuka lightly bite his neck.

Tezuka pulled away to frown to Fuji. "That's fast." He commented. He undoubtedly recalling the time Atobe nearly got them just over two weeks ago.

Fuji shrugged. "Yeah. Too bad, I love this place."

"When will he arrive?"

Fuji's eyes glinted mischievously. "In around seven hours. That..." He said as he rolled their position so that he was now on top of Tezuka. "That is still enough time for more…ah, vigorous activity, to quote my mother."

Tezuka looked as if he was about to comment on that remark but wisely changed his mind. Fuji smiled as he bent down to kiss his lover and linked their fingers together. Neither cared about leaving this place immediately. They didn't care where they're going to go next to avoid their mothers and Atobe. They didn't care about what's ahead of them. They had all he needed. They had each other. And a suitcase full of lubes, condoms, and toys Yumiko insisted to send them. And those were all that mattered.

O~WA~RI

A/N: And it's finished! Once again, thank you so much! I hope this won't be my last PoT fic. And it won't! I have another saga ready but this time it will be dark and angsty. It'll have to wait, tho. For now, it's a goodbye! It's been a wonderful three (!) years! Don't forget to R&R!


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